Israel Seeks to Ban UNRWA Presence in Gaza

Palestinian victims of the Israeli genocide in Gaza, Oct. 2024. X/ @UNRWA

October 9, 2024 Hour: 8:52 am

The departure of the UNWRA from Gaza would be a catastrophe in what is already an unmitigated disaster, UN Secretary stated.

On Tuesday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed “profound concern” over Israel’s draft legislation that could prevent the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from continuing its work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

“In the midst of all the upheaval, UNRWA — more than ever — is indispensable,” Guterres said, adding that he has written directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his concern about the draft legislation.

“Such a measure would suffocate efforts to ease human suffering and tensions in Gaza, and indeed, the entire Occupied Palestinian Territory. It would be a catastrophe in what is already an unmitigated disaster,” Guterres pointed out.

Operationally, the legislation would likely deal a terrible blow to the international humanitarian response in Gaza, as UNRWA’s activities are integral to that response. “It is not feasible to isolate one UN agency from the others,” the UN Secretary stated.

Francotiradores del ejército sionista dispararon al cuello de una niña palestina de 10 años que estaba huyendo de las bombas junto a su familia, en el campo de refugiados de Jabalia, al norte de Gaza.

Pocos criminales más sádicos que los sionistas ha habido en la historia, que… pic.twitter.com/Ehq0gR5ZSe
— Daniel Mayakovski (@DaniMayakovski) October 9, 2024

The text reads, “Zionist army snipers shot a 10-year-old Palestinian girl in the neck as she was fleeing bombs with her family in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza. There have been few more sadistic criminals in history than the Zionists. What kind of sociopathic monster shoots refugee girls fleeing war.”

Warning that the measure would effectively end coordination to protect UN convoys, offices and shelters serving hundreds of thousands of people, Guterres said that without UNRWA, the delivery of food, shelter and health care to most of Gaza’s population would grind to a halt; Gaza’s 660,000 children would lose the only entity that is able to re-start education, risking the fate of an entire generation; and many health, education and social services would also end in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

If approved, such legislation would be diametrically opposed to the UN Charter and in violation of Israel’s obligations under international law, the UN chief pointed out, adding that national legislation cannot alter those obligations. “And politically, such legislation would be an enormous setback to sustainable peace efforts and to a two-state solution — fanning even more instability and insecurity,” he said.

The UNRWA was established in December 1949 to carry out direct relief and works programs for Palestine refugees. When the agency began operations in 1950, it was responding to the needs of about 750,000 Palestine refugees, and today, some 5.9 million Palestine refugees are eligible for UNRWA services.