UNITED NATIONS: After Israel approved a law prohibiting the UNRWA’s operations, the UN Security Council on Wednesday “strongly warned against any attempts to dismantle or diminish” the agency’s mission and operations.
The 15-member body voiced serious concerns in a unanimously voted statement about the legislation passed by the Israeli parliament on Monday, which has drawn international outrage and is set to take effect in 90 days.
Israel was asked by the council “to live up to its responsibility to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip, as well as to abide by its international obligations and respect the privileges and immunities of UNRWA.”
According to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, if Israel were to impose its embargo on UNRWA, it would be against international law, the Charter of the United Nations, and a 1946 agreement on the diplomatic privileges and immunities accorded to UN missions.
According to the agency, no other organization can match its capacity to assist Palestinians.
The new law puts UNRWA’s relief activities in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip in jeopardy, according to UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini.
No other organization can take the place of UNRWA in providing life-saving humanitarian relief to Palestinians in need, the Security Council stated, emphasizing that UNRWA “remains the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza.”
Israel’s action coincides with UN figures showing that aid into Gaza has fallen to its lowest level of the year. The UN has frequently charged Israel for impeding and preventing efforts to send aid, especially to the northern section of Gaza, and a worldwide hunger monitor has warned of an impending famine.
Earlier last month, Israel launched a massive military campaign in northern Gaza. According to the United States, it was keeping an eye on things to make sure its ally’s ground operations demonstrated that it did not have a “policy of starvation” in the north.
Millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria receive health, education, and other forms of assistance from UNRWA. Although relations with Israel have always been hostile, they have drastically worsened since the battle between Israel and Hamas in Gaza began in October 2023.
