Israel enforces ban on UNRWA operations in East Jerusalem

A ban on the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating in Occupied East Jerusalem and within Israel came into effect today. The ban follows a Knesset vote three months ago and a recent Israeli Supreme Court ruling that dismissed an appeal to halt its implementation in what the court referred to as “the sovereign territory of the state of Israel.”

UNRWA’s international staff in East Jerusalem have already vacated their offices, according to UN sources. The ban also prohibits contact between UNRWA staff and the Israeli authorities, raising uncertainty about how operations across the occupied Palestinian territories will be affected.

Nevertheless, UNRWA said on social media that it is continuing to provide essential services to Palestinian refugees, including health clinics across the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Moreover, Norway today pledged $24 million in support of UNRWA. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide stressed the importance of the agency’s work amid Gaza’s dire humanitarian crisis. “It is extremely dramatic for Palestine that Israeli laws come into force, potentially hindering UNRWA’s essential work,” said Eide.

The Spanish government also condemned the move today, urging Israel to suspend the ban and expressing concern over its potential impact on humanitarian aid in Gaza and the occupied territories. In its statement, Spain called UNRWA “essential” and “irreplaceable”, emphasising the essential services it offers to six million Palestinian refugees.

In East Jerusalem, UNRWA offers health care to around 70,000 Palestinian refugees as well as education for around 1,000 students.

The UN Agency added that it had not received any official communication on how the Israeli ban on UNRWA will be implemented. However, it did warn that it “threatens life-saving aid, education and health care.”

Last year, Israel accused UNRWA staff of participating in the 7 October terrorist attacks. However, an investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services was unable to authenticate any of the Israeli information used to support the allegation.

Israel has repeatedly equated UNRWA staff with Hamas members in efforts to discredit them, providing no proof of the allegations, while lobbying hard to have UNRWA closed as it is the only UN agency to have a specific mandate to look after the basic needs of Palestinian refugees.

If the agency no longer exists, argues Israel, then the refugee issue must no longer exist, and the legitimate right of Palestinian refugees to return to their land will be unnecessary. Israel has denied that right of return since the late 1940s, even though its own membership of the UN was made conditional upon Palestinian refugees being allowed to return to their homes and land.

READ: OIC warns of repercussions of Israel’s UNRWA ban