On Monday, the Knesset passed, immediately after the opening of the winter session, a pair of laws against UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency, and the body that was established in 1949 to deal with Palestinian refugees. The laws were submitted with cross-party support, by Knesset members Boaz Bismuth and Dan Iluz (Likud), Sharan Haskel (New Hope), Yulia Malinovsky and Ron Katz (Yisrael Beiteinu); the laws passed with sweeping support, including a significant part of the opposition – with 92 supporters.
The new laws prevent UNRWA from operating completely in Israel, as well as in East Jerusalem. In addition, the laws prevent any contact between government bodies and officials and representatives of the agency, so that given the state of war in which the Gaza Strip is located, the organization’s ability to continue to operate in the Gaza Strip and the west bank is drastically reduced. Israel’s problem is not with aid to the Palestinians, but specifically with UNRWA; accordingly, the new laws will only take effect in 90 days, to give the relevant parties enough time to create alternatives for the Palestinians. “This is a historic day when you put an end to years of farce,” said MK Dan Illouz, “UNRWA is not a humanitarian organization, but a partner in terrorist crimes.”
Israel has always had a bad relationship with UNRWA, which has become the only UN treatment body for refugees that did not end its activities a few years after its establishment. Many have accused UNRWA of contributing to the line of Arab states at the time, of perpetuating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and transferring it from generation to generation, by maintaining the status of refugees even after many decades, and failing to provide sufficient catalysts for the Palestinians to take their fate into their own hands, and to stop dreaming of returning to their old homes. Israel also had a problem with UNRWA’s educational systems, which contained anti-Israel content and even incitement to terrorism. Over the years, most UNRWA employees have become local Palestinians, and the organization has taken on a character based on its location, with full cooperation in the Gaza Strip with the Hamas government, which included turning a blind eye to terrorist activities and even digging tunnels and headquarters near UNRWA buildings. But the straw that broke the camel’s back for Israel was the participation of several UNRWA employees in the October 7 terrorist attack; and now, with the campaign to change the face of the Gaza Strip, UNRWA is finally identified as part of the problem and not as part of the solution.
This is a politically courageous move by Israel, when it will undoubtedly cause quite a bit of international turbulence. Several European countries have already announced their intention to continue supporting UNRWA and its activities in the PA territories; and the UN Secretary-General has issued a harsh condemnation of Israeli legislation. In addition, a Palestinian appeal to international courts against Israel can be expected, in an attempt to bend its hand.
