UN Security Council warns against attempts to dismantle UN Palestinian aid agency
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UNRWA provides education, health and other aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SAN FRANCISCO - The United Nations Security Council on Oct 30 “strongly warned against any attempts to dismantle or diminish” the operations and mandate of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA after Israel passed a law banning its operations.
In a statement adopted by consensus, the 15-member body expressed grave concern over the legislation adopted by the Israeli Parliament on Oct 28, which is due to come into effect in 90 days and has sparked international condemnation.
The council urged Israel “to abide by its international obligations, respect the privileges and immunities of UNRWA, and 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”.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that Israel’s ban on UNRWA, if implemented, would violate international law, the founding UN Charter and a 1946 UN convention on the diplomatic privileges and immunities granted to UN operations.
UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini warned that the organisation’s aid operations in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip were now at risk of collapse because of the new law.
The Security Council “underscored that UNRWA remains the backbone of all humanitarian response in Gaza” and said that no other organisation can replace the agency’s ability to serve Palestinians in need of life-saving humanitarian assistance.
The move by Israel comes as the amount of aid entering Gaza has plummeted to its lowest level all year, according to UN data. A global hunger monitor has warned of a looming famine, and the UN has repeatedly accused Israel of hindering and blocking attempts to deliver aid, particularly to Gaza’s north.
Aid
Israel began a wide military offensive in northern Gaza earlier in October. The United States has said it was watching to ensure that its ally’s actions on the ground show it does not have a “policy of starvation” in the north.
Israel has said there is no lack of aid in Gaza and has accused Hamas of hijacking the humanitarian assistance. Hamas has repeatedly denied Israeli allegations that it was stealing aid and says Israel is to blame for the shortages.
UNRWA provides education, health and other aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It has long had tense relations with Israel, but ties have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in Gaza in October 2023.
Israel has accused some UNRWA staff of also being Hamas militants. The UN said in August that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel,
Israel’s Foreign Ministry said on Oct 30 that Israel “remains committed to international law and to ensuring the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, through international organisations that are free of terrorist activity”.
“There are alternatives to UNRWA,” it said in a post on social media platform X.
The Security Council “underscored the importance to take timely measures to address any credible allegations and to ensure accountability for any violations of the agency’s policies related to the principle of neutrality”. REUTERS
