منظمة العفو الدولية: الحظر الذي فرضته إسرائيل على الأونروا "يرقى إلى مستوى تجريم المساعدات الإنسانية"

On Nov. 4, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced it had formally withdrawn the recognition of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees, as established under the 1967 cooperation agreement. This update comes after the Israeli Knesset voted to ban UNRWA from operating throughout Occupied Palestine on Oct. 28. The ban is scheduled to take effect within 90 days of the decision. Simultaneously, the Zionist Israeli state has designated the UN agency, which serves over six million registered Palestinian refugees, as a “terror group.” 

On Oct. 28, UNRWA’s Commissioner General, Philippe Lazzarini wrote a letter to the president of the UN General Assembly, asking member states to take action to support UNRWA.

“These bills [referring to the Knesset decision] will not terminate the refugee status of the Palestinians, which exists independently of UNRWA’s service provision. They will severely harm their lives and future,” he wrote on X, sharing the letter. “Today, even as we look into the faces of children in Gaza, some of whom we know will die tomorrow, the rules-based international order is crumbling in a repetition of the horrors that led to the establishment of the United Nations, and in violation of commitments to prevent their recurrence.”

The UNRWA USA national committee, a nonprofit organization independent of the relief agency but supports its work, called the decision “outrageous and reprehensible” in a statement released on Oct. 29. The ban will indeed have severe repercussions for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees across Gaza and the West Bank. 

Mara Kronenfeld, Executive Director of UNRWA USA, emphasized the damaging implications of this move.“The human cost of this ban is immeasurable. This Israeli Knesset vote banning UNRWA is not merely an attack on the UN Agency; it’s an attack on the fundamental rights and dignity due to all human beings,” she said. “The consequences of this ban could result in the loss of tens of thousands, if not more, precious Palestinian lives. Where is the humanity?”

On Oct. 29, Amnesty International condemned the Knesset’s vote, stating that the decision “amounts to the criminalization of humanitarian aid” and constitutes a breach of international law. Amnesty elaborated that banning UNRWA’s operations would obstruct access to essential services, including education, health care, and emergency assistance for Palestinian refugees, thereby infringing upon rights protected under international humanitarian and human rights law. The organization further emphasized that this measure exemplifies a broader strategy of targeting aid organizations and restricting critical assistance to vulnerable populations in Occupied Palestine.

On Nov. 1, the Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, a group of 15 heads of UN and humanitarian organizations, released a statement calling for the protection of civilians in Gaza and denouncing the legislation.

“Let us be very clear: There is no alternative to UNRWA,” the statement said. 

Israel’s efforts to dismantle and delegitimize UNRWA are not a new phenomenon. The Israeli regime has been gradually building up to this decision throughout the last 13 months of genocide. In January, Israeli officials publicly targeted UNRWA, pushing forward the myth that Hamas had infiltrated the UN agency. Despite the absence of evidence supporting this claim, The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported the story, effectively sealing UNRWA’s fate. 

Within days, UNRWA faced another setback when over half a dozen countries announced their decision to pause funding to the humanitarian organization. The overwhelming vote in favor of the ban is yet another tactic to isolate and condemn Palestinians to death by cutting off any last sliver of aid available to them. 

UNRWA is the “backbone” of humanitarian aid operations in Gaza and maintains the most impactful presence in the occupied Strip. Middle East Eye reports that smaller NGOs in Gaza frequently rely on UNRWA. The limited relief provided over the last year, including food and fuel, shelter for displaced individuals, and medical care, has primarily been made possible through UNRWA’s operations. 

There is no replacement for UNRWA as it functions as a “quasi-state” for Palestinians. Virtually all residents of Gaza depend on UNRWA, and its ban will likely precipitate a collapse of the aid sector. Not only will these consequences exacerbate the ongoing crisis, but they will leave Gaza nearly unmanageable once this genocide inevitably ends, as there is no sufficient alternative.

In Gaza, UNRWA is akin to a vital organ; as the Zionist settler colony deprives the agency of oxygen, it is ensuring its failure. The repercussions of this ban are projected to be so severe that Action For Humanity’s Charles Lawley told Middle East Eye that, “The quality of life [in Gaza] will deteriorate to medieval levels if this goes ahead.” 

Palestine experts have long analyzed the reasons driving Israel’s attacks on UNRWA. Lubnah Shomali of BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Rights explained in an interview with Mondoweiss that while “the status of refugees is independent of the existence of UNRWA and under international law, it gives refugees the right to choose between return, resettlement, or integration, but as long as they don’t enjoy the freedom to choose, their status remains valid and they have the right to humanitarian assistance. … UNRWA represents the international recognition of this legal and political reality, and this is why Israel has been trying to liquidate UNRWA for so long.” 

Since Israel began its genocide in the Gaza Strip, at least 237 UNRWA staff have been killed, with more than 200 of its facilities damaged or destroyed, wrote Philippe Lazzarini in his letter to the President of the United Nations General Assembly.

If, or when, executed, this ban would not only devastate Gaza and the West Bank but also impact Palestinian refugess across the region, considering that UNRWA operates throughout Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. 

Israel, now more than ever, is abandoning any semblance of compliance with the norms established by so-called international human rights. This blatant disregard is compelling the West and organizations like the UN to confront, and fail to address, glaring injustices they once vowed would not resurface.