Israel’s parliament passed two legislative measures on Monday, which prohibit a 74-year-old United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees from operating on Israeli soil and also sever diplomatic relations with the organization.
These actions put at risk the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)’s ability to deliver essential services such as food, medicine, and shelter to nearly two million Gazans displaced by conflict in the Palestinian region.
The legislation was enacted despite warnings from Israel’s closest European allies, as well as Japan and South Korea, who cautioned on Sunday that preventing UNRWA from functioning in Israel would result in “devastating consequences on an already critical and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation.”
Prior to the passing of the law, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller expressed concern, stating, “If UNRWA disappears, civilians—including children and infants—will lack access to essential food, water, and medicine that are vital for survival.” The United States is both Israel’s largest diplomatic and military ally, and the principal financial supporter of UNRWA.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported the legislation, which was advanced through the Knesset with the support of his far-right coalition allies and a majority of Jewish parliamentarians. Palestinian lawmakers with Israeli nationality who opposed the measures were overruled during a contentious yet brief debate.
While the first law does not explicitly prevent UNRWA from operating in Gaza and the West Bank, the second law discontinues diplomatic interactions between Israel and the agency, complicating the administration of humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza and affecting the diplomatic status of UNRWA officials.
Under international law, Israel is required to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and Netanyahu affirmed on social media platform X that this obligation would be upheld.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini stated that the vote violated Israel’s international legal obligations. “This is the latest effort to discredit UNRWA and undermine its authority,” Lazzarini noted on X, commenting that these measures would amplify the suffering of Palestinians, particularly in Gaza.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his “deep concern” over the newly adopted Israeli laws, cautioning that they “could have devastating consequences for Palestine refugees” and would obstruct the peace process. Guterres emphasized that “There is no alternative to UNRWA.”
The Israeli government had accused UNRWA of allowing collaboration between several of its staff and the Palestinian militant group Hamas during an incident on October 7, 2023, when multiple fighters crossed the border into southern Israel from Gaza. However, little evidence was provided to substantiate these claims. In August, UNRWA reported the dismissal of nine staff members possibly related to the attack, which Israeli officials claim resulted in 1,200 casualties and led to the Gaza conflict.
Right-wing Israeli politicians have long criticized UNRWA for recording the descendants of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 conflict, which resulted in the formation of the state of Israel, as individuals asserting the “right to return” to their ancestral lands. Netanyahu has previously asserted that UNRWA “perpetuates the Palestinian refugee issue.”
Although the legislation is not set to become effective for at least three months, its consequences will be immediately noticeable in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Israel annexed East Jerusalem, hosting over 300,000 Palestinians, in a measure unrecognized by much of the international community, considering the entire city as sovereign territory.
Earlier this year, UNRWA’s premises in East Jerusalem were targeted by right-wing activists. In East Jerusalem, UNRWA manages schools, health centers, and essential services for Palestinians, and provides assistance to five million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.