Israel’s UNRWA ban a ‘new level in war against UN’, Palestinian envoy says

Israel’s move to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) marks a “new level” in its war with the UN, the Palestinian envoy to the UN has said.

The Israeli parliament or Knesset approved bills on Monday aimed at banning UNRWA from operating in Israel.

UNRWA supports Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem, as well as surrounding countries.

Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the Knesset’s legislation to ban UNRWA “constitutes a new level in this war against the UN and an integral part of an all-out assault on the Palestinian people”.

He noted how Israel had declared UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “persona non grata” – and had killed, detained and tortured UN staff and UN peacekeepers.

Mansour noted many countries condemned Israel’s decision to ban UNRWA.

“And yet Israel still sits among us and utilises its seat to incite against the UN … When will the condemnations lead to actions and accountability?” Mansour questioned.

UNRWA has provided essential aid, schooling, and healthcare across the Palestinian territory and to Palestinian refugees elsewhere for more than seven decades.

But since Israel’s war on Gaza began last October, the agency itself has suffered heavy losses, with at least 223 of its staff killed and two-thirds of its facilities in Gaza damaged or destroyed.

Danny Danon, Israel’s representative at the UN, told the Security Council that UNRWA in Gaza has become a front for Hamas, the Palestinian armed group.

Israeli authorities have long called for the agency to be dismantled, arguing that its mission is obsolete and it fosters anti-Israeli sentiment among its staff, in its schools and in its wider social mission. UNRWA strongly disputes this characterisation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has in the past also called on the United States, Israel’s top ally and the agency’s biggest donor, to roll back its support.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini called the vote by Israeli lawmakers a “dangerous precedent” and said that it was the latest in an ongoing campaign to discredit the agency and “delegitimise its role towards providing human development assistance and services to Palestine refugees”.

Israel’s decision to ban UNRWA would represent a form of collective punishment for Gaza’s people if fully implemented, UN humanitarian office spokesperson Jens Laerke said.

Russia, China, Qatar, European countries and rights organisations around the world also condemned the vote in the Israeli parliament.

Reporting from UN headquarters in New York City, Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo said dozens of countries have expressed support for UNRWA.

“The UN secretary-general has said he is going to take this issue up with the General Assembly (GA). There is some movement behind the scenes in the GA to put sanctions against Israel,” Elizondo added.

The Security Council session came as Israel continued its bombardment of Gaza, killing at least 115 people on Tuesday, including 109 in the north of the territory, according to Palestinian authorities.

“Israel has crossed every red line, broken every rule, defied every prohibition. When is enough really enough? When are you going to act? You are the Security Council. You have to reach every single one who is in pain among the Palestinians. That is your duty,” Mansour said at the UN Security Council meeting.

“By ending impunity and ensuring accountability, by finally bringing to an end this terrible injustice, let your actions match your words. Stop this genocide or forever remain silent.”