Who needs the UN when you have the US. In fact, why even have the UN. Who likes to be scolded.
Israel Cuts Ties With U.N. Agency, Creating New Hurdles for Palestinian Aid
Ban on working with Unrwa will make it harder for agency to operate in Gaza
By Carrie Keller-Lynn, WSJ
Updated Oct. 29, 2024 5:07 pm ET
TEL AVIV—Israel’s Parliament passed legislation to sever ties with the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, curtailing its ability to work in Gaza and the West Bank at a time when it is leading the humanitarian response to the war in Gaza.
The laws passed late Monday effectively ban Unrwa, known formally as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, from operating in Israeli territory and forbid Israeli state authorities from having contact with it. Israel has long criticized Unrwa, which it says is biased against Israel and has Hamas members on its staff.
The provisions would cut the agency off from access to Israeli entrance permits into Gaza and the West Bank. They would also end coordination with the Israeli military, which Unrwa relies upon to ferry staff and aid around Gaza. Israel currently manages all points of entry into Gaza after it took control of the Gaza side of the enclave’s crossing with Egypt in May.
The practical effect on aid deliveries is likely to be shaped by a number of factors. It isn’t yet clear how the restrictions will be enforced and some of Unrwa’s activities could be carried out in coordination with other U.N. agencies. There is also a 90-day transition period before the restrictions take effect.
The Biden administration, which recently sent a letter warning Israel to improve aid to Gaza or risk a cut to arms sales, had urged Israel to scrap the vote for several weeks. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday that the U.S. was “deeply troubled” by the legislation, which he said could shut down Unrwa operations in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
Western allies of Israel and some Asian countries have also opposed the legislation, with the foreign ministers of the U.K., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan and South Korea warning in a joint statement before the vote that the bills would have “devastating consequences” on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. European Union foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell said on X that the bills were “in stark contradiction to international law.”
Meanwhile in Lebanon, Hezbollah named a replacement for its leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September. Naim Qassem, Nasrallah’s longtime deputy, replaces him as secretary-general of the militant group, Hezbollah said Tuesday.
Hezbollah’s new leader Naim Qassem. Photo: mohamed azakir/Reuters
Talks on ending the war in Gaza have also continued this week in Qatar. They included discussions around a new proposal for a temporary four-week truce during which Hamas would release up to eight hostages held in the enclave and Israel would release an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners, according to Arab mediators. About 100 of the roughly 250 hostages captured during the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, remain in Gaza, with many of those feared dead.
The plan would test the goodwill of Hamas and Israel by allowing them to negotiate during the truce period a comprehensive cease-fire including the exchange of the remaining hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. The plan also includes a possible Israeli withdrawal from areas along the Gaza border with Egypt and Gaza.
Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns and mediators from Israel, Qatar and Egypt took part in the talks. Hamas has told Arab mediators it prefers a comprehensive deal that would put a definitive end to the war but is open to discussing the proposal.
Israel has tried for several months to shift responsibility for humanitarian services in Gaza to several other U.N. aid agencies and independent groups operating in the enclave. But Unrwa, which had the largest Gaza-based staff before the war, is broadly seen as the backbone of the humanitarian response in the strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticized Unrwa, but Israel hasn’t employed a clear strategy toward the agency. Instead, it has taken piecemeal steps like Monday’s legislation.
“Unrwa workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable. Since avoiding a humanitarian crisis is also essential, sustained humanitarian aid must remain available in Gaza now and in the future,” Netanyahu’s office said after the vote. “In the 90 days before this legislation takes effect—and after—we stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel’s security.”
The Pentagon warned that the new laws could have ramifications for U.S. arms sales to Israel. Pentagon spokesman Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Tuesday that “the passage of that legislation could have implications under U.S. law and U.S. policy.”
Miller declined to say what the U.S. would do in response to the legislation but said the new laws could affect U.S. policy given Unrwa’s importance in delivering aid in the region. “Unrwa, of course, plays a critical role in providing services to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and throughout the wider region,” he said. “They play a role right now that at least today, cannot be filled by anyone else. “
Unrwa head Philippe Lazzarini criticized the decision and wrote on X shortly after the vote that the legislation “sets a dangerous precedent.”
“This is the latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit Unrwa and delegitimize its role toward providing human-development assistance and services to Palestine Refugees,” he wrote.
If implemented, the new laws could collapse Unrwa’s operation in Gaza, said Tamara Alrifai, an Unrwa spokeswoman. They could also create safety concerns for Unrwa staff operating within Gaza if the agency is unable to speak to Israeli officials, she said. The agency’s international staff could also be blocked from entering Israel, the West Bank, Gaza or East Jerusalem, she said.
Jerusalem’s municipality said it was prepared to absorb into existing schools the roughly 900 Palestinian children who studied at Unrwa’s East Jerusalem schools, which are set to be closed because of the new law. The municipality said Tuesday that it was also preparing to provide welfare, health and sanitation services as alternatives to what Unrwa has been offering to registered Palestinian refugees in East Jerusalem.
“You’re taking a precarious situation already at a boiling point and literally fueling that fire,” said Tahani Mustafa, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group. “This could be the catalyst to make things erupt in the West Bank. Same thing in East Jerusalem.”
Unrwa has long had a tense relationship with Israel, which throughout the years has intermittently accused Gaza-based militants of using Unrwa facilities to fire rockets at Israel or house parts of the Hamas tunnel network.
Tensions came to a head in January. The U.S. and several other countries decided to suspend funding to the agency after it fired several employees whom Israel accused of having participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Many of those countries have since reinstated funding. The attacks killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities.
Israel declared war on Hamas in response to those attacks. The fighting has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, whose numbers don’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.
At least 220 Unrwa staff members have been killed in the conflict. Israel has said that a small number of Unrwa’s staff who were killed were militants. That includes a man who Israel said kidnapped American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin and several others on Oct. 7.
The agency employed about 12,000 Palestinians in Gaza ahead of the war, most of them as teachers for an extensive network of schools in the enclave. Much of the staff has had to pivot to address the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza as a result of the war, with widespread hunger and increased fear over the spread of infectious disease.
Unrwa was created in 1949 to serve hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced or expelled by fighting after the State of Israel was established. Today it serves about six million Palestinian refugees and their descendants, with services offered in East Jerusalem, Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. The agency provides education, healthcare, food aid and other relief and social services, in addition to its leading role in Gaza’s wartime humanitarian response.
Stephen Kalin, Summer Said, Alan Cullison and Nancy A. Youssef contributed to this article.
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