JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel has officially notified the United Nations that it is terminating the agreement governing its relations with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) since 1967, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on Monday. after Parliament adopted a text to this effect last week.
The Knesset approved a law banning UNRWA from operating on Israeli territory and prohibiting Israeli authorities from cooperating with the agency, which provides aid, health and educational services to millions of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and in the Gaza Strip.
This measure came as Israel, which has long criticized UNRWA, accused employees of the agency of having participated in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. The Jewish state also denounces an “infiltration “of UNRWA by the Palestinian armed movement.
The United Nations and several Western allies have expressed concern over the Israeli decision, fearing that the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza could worsen, even though the ban does not mention humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territories.
In a statement, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon said the United Nations has “done nothing to address the reality that Hamas has infiltrated UNRWA,” despite “overwhelming” evidence. ” transmitted by Israel to the United Nations.
Israel's Foreign Ministry said the activities of other international organizations would be expanded as part of measures intended to “promote alternatives to UNRWA.”
(James Mackenzie, with Muhammad Al Gebaly and Nilutpal Timsina; French version Jean Terzian)
