Israeli parliament has approved on Monday a controversial bill to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which is considered as the lifeline in the Israel sieged Gaza, reports agencies.
The banning will be applicable in Israeli territory and its occupied Palestine area, according to the bill.
Following the ban, countries and organizations condemn Israel and expressed their concern about the humanitarian aid to the war-torn Gaza.
These countries include, Switzerland, Australia, Jordan, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia, Spain and so on.
The Swiss ministry of foreign affairs said in a post on social media platform X that the country is “concerned about the humanitarian, political and legal implications of these decisions”.
Opposing the ban Australian foreign minister Penny Wong said, “UNRWA does life-saving work and that her government opposes the Israeli Knesset’s decision to “severely restrict” the agency’s operations.”
“Australia again calls on Israel to comply with the binding orders of the ICJ to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance at scale in Gaza,” she wrote on X.
Terming the ban “illegal and invalid”, Jordan’s ministry of foreign affairs strongly condemned Israel’s decision. It also said that the decision is a “flagrant” violation of international law.
Sufyan Al-Qudah, a spokesman for the ministry, called for immediate action to protect the Palestinian people and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), warning that the Israeli campaign “aimed at assassinating UNRWA politically” would have “catastrophic consequences”.
He also said that “Israel’s attempts to target UNRWA and its symbolism, which emphasizes the right of Palestinian refugees to return and compensation in accordance with international law, are doomed to failure”.
The governments of the four European countries, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain – all of which have recognized Palestinian statehood – issued a joint statement condemning the Knesset’s targeting of the agency.
“UNRWA has a mandate from the United Nations General Assembly,” the statement said.
“The legislation approved by the Knesset sets a very serious precedent for the work of the United Nations and for all organizations of the multilateral system.”
The four countries said they would “continue to work with donor and host countries to ensure the viability of UNRWA’s work and its humanitarian role”.
Organizations take their stance over the decision
International Organizations, including World Health Organization, United Nations, Hamas, PIJ and etc have made their stance clear condemning Knesset’s decision of banning UNRWA.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said following Israeli bill on the UNRWA, it has been an “irreplaceable lifeline” for the Palestinian people for the past seven decades.
“UNRWA was created by the UN member states. Monday’s decision by the Israeli parliament barring UNRWA from its life-saving and health-protecting work on behalf of millions of Palestinians will have devastating consequences,” he said in a post on X.
“This is intolerable. It contravenes Israel’s obligations and responsibilities, and threatens the lives and health of all those who depend on UNRWA.”
Hamas has condemned the Israeli legislation that bans UNRWA, saying it considers the bill as “part of the Zionist war and aggression against our people”.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a Palestinian armed group, also denounced the Israeli move, calling it “an escalation in the genocide” against Palestinians, according to a separate statement.
Earlier, a spokesman for the Palestinian presidency in Ramallah also spoke out against the legislation, saying: “We reject and condemn the legislation. We will not allow this. The overwhelming vote of the Knesset reflects Israel’s transformation into a fascist state.”
UN Ambassadors
UN Ambassadors also condemned the decision of Knesset as they get the news of UNRWA ban while they were in a meeting about Israel’s strikes over the weekend on Iran.
The Chinese ambassador to the UN said that it was a very bad decision. He condemned it and said Israel needs to rethink this.
The Russian ambassador to UN condemned as well. He said that this decision by the Israeli parliament makes things even more complicated, particularly in Gaza. He also said it was a terrible decision.
Barbara Woodward, the UK’s ambassador to the UN, actually made comments about it in the Security Council chamber.
Bd-Pratidin English/ Afsar Munna
