A child in the Jenin refugee camp looking at the destroyed shelters following recent militarized operations. Credit: UNICEF/Ahed Izhiman
By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 31 2024 – On October 28, the Israeli parliament voted to ban activity from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Israel. Two bills were passed by the Knesset, Israel’s house of representatives, one that barred all UNRWA efforts, and another that prevents interactions between Israeli authorities and UNRWA personnel. The implications of this amendment are expected to exacerbate dire conditions for millions of Palestinians who were already in the midst of a severe humanitarian crisis.
This comes after nearly eight decades of work done by UNRWA in Palestine to provide refugees with essential humanitarian aid. The absence of UNRWA activity in Palestine is expected to further restrict humanitarian access in the nation, leaving millions to fend for themselves amid the ongoing hostilities and the upcoming harsh winter. UNRWA has actively supported Palestinians since 1948, distributing essential resources including food, water and shelter, and providing critical public services such as healthcare and education.
UNRWA and the United Nations (UN) have responded to the bills and denounced Israel’s actions towards the people of Palestine. “The implementation of the laws could have devastating consequences for Palestine refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which is unacceptable,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini issued a statement to X (formerly known as Twitter) saying, “These bills will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza where people have been going through more than a year of sheer hell. It will deprive over 650,000 girls & boys there from education, putting at risk an entire generation of children. These bills increase the suffering of the Palestinians and are nothing less than collective punishment.”
Israeli authorities doubled down on their stance on the bills, accusing UNRWA of promoting terrorism and antisemitism. Yulia Malinovsky, a member of the Knesset, told reporters that UNRWA does not deserve legal immunity from Israeli retaliation, saying that aid personnel should no longer receive “five star treatment” in Israel. Malinovsky also opined that UNRWA colluded with Hamas.
“UNRWA chose to make itself an inseparable component of Hamas’ mechanism – and now is the time to detach ourselves entirely from it,” said former Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin issued a joint statement to Israeli authorities, warning that the newly passed bills “would devastate the humanitarian response in Gaza at this critical moment and deny essential educational and social services to tens of thousands of Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem”.
This is particularly concerning to humanitarian organizations as almost all of Gaza’s population depends on aid to survive. At this moment, humanitarian aid is more crucial than ever as Gaza grapples with the high risk of a polio outbreak, the destruction of critical infrastructure, and dwindling resources.
“Israel has bombed Palestinians to death, maimed them, starved them, and is now ridding them of their biggest lifeline of aid. Piece by piece, Israel is systematically dismantling Gaza as a land that is autonomous and livable for Palestinians. The banning of UNRWA today is condemnable and another step in this crime,” says Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa.
UNRWA and its partners, including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), began the second round of polio vaccinations in Gaza on October 14. Although initially successful, continued bombardments halted the campaign from reaching northern Gaza, home to approximately 120,000 unimmunized children. The deadline to provide these children with the crucial second dose falls in mid-November, after which, chances of full immunization significantly decline.
“This is a risk not just to the 120,000 children who remain in northern Gaza, children aged ten, and below that is, but also to children in the larger region. And that’s why we are so incredibly worried and pressing for this second round to happen by the beginning of November,” says Rosalia Bollen, UNICEF’s Communication Specialist in Gaza.
Bollen adds that the polio outbreak, continued hostilities, and the lack of humanitarian aid have taken a severe toll on children’s education, describing Gaza’s children as “a lost generation”. UNRWA hosts a variety of social services in Palestine, including over 183 schools in Gaza. These schools are set to shut down due to the two newly passed bills.
As the bills were being passed by the Knesset, Israel continued its aerial campaign in Gaza. On the morning of October 29, Israel launched another airstrike on a displacement shelter in Beit Lahiya, causing at least 109 civilian casualties and leveling a five-storey residential building. Gaza’s health ministry has reported that a series of bombardments in densely populated districts in northern Gaza has resulted in over 800 deaths in a three week aerial campaign.
“The bombing in north Gaza is non-stop. The bombs continue to fall, the Israeli military is separating families and detaining many people and people fleeing have been reportedly shot at. The Israeli Government’s policies and practices in northern Gaza risk emptying the area of all Palestinians. We are facing what could amount to atrocity crimes, including potentially extending to crimes against humanity,” said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk.
Additionally, intense bombardments have halted humanitarian aid, essentially cutting off the flow of supplies for millions of Palestinians. Resources have been almost completely depleted, with humanitarian organizations fearing the onset of famine in Gaza. A statement by the World Food Programme (WFP) states, “Gaza’s food systems have largely collapsed due to the destruction of factories, croplands and shops. Markets are nearly empty as most commercial channels are no longer functioning.”
In early October of this year, a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) warned that approximately 96 percent of Gaza will face severe food insecurity, with almost half a million people facing “catastrophic levels” of hunger. Famine has been described as imminent.
Without UNRWA’s activity in the occupied Palestinian territories, conditions are expected to severely deteriorate as the harsh winter approaches. “After being forced to flee time and time again, hundreds of thousands of families in Gaza are living in inadequate tents and makeshift shelters. When winter comes, these shelters will not keep them safe from strong winds, heavy rains and cold temperatures,” said Alison Ely, Shelter Cluster coordinator in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Spokesman for the Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric confirmed that the UN will continue to do whatever they can to assist the Palestinian people. Dujarric also noted that due to UNRWA’s removal from Palestine, Israel has an obligation to meet the needs of the millions of people residing in their sovereignties. “Israel would have to fill the vacuum and meet those needs, or be in violation of international law,” explained Dujarric.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement declaring Israel’s intentions to provide humanitarian aid for affected communities in Gaza. “In the 90 days before this legislation goes into effect — and after — we stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure that Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza in a manner that does not threaten Israel’s security,” says Netanyahu.
Humanitarian organizations and U.S. officials have expressed their concerns that Israel will not be able to effectively facilitate the duties that were conducted by UNRWA. Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the United States Department of State, said. “There’s nobody that can replace them (UNRWA) right now in the middle of the crisis”.
Guterres echoed these sentiments in a post shared to X. “There is no alternative to UNRWA.”
IPS UN Bureau Report
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