United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has called on Israel’s government to reverse a newly passed law that would effectively ban the U.N. agency dedicated to assisting Palestinians.
The law is set to take effect this week.
“I regret this decision and request that the Government of Israel retract it,” Guterres expressed in a letter to Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon, which was obtained by VOA.
The U.N. chief emphasized that the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees is irreplaceable, with no other entity having the capacity or mandate to carry out its essential work.
On October 28, Israel’s parliament approved legislation to prohibit UNRWA’s operations. Israel claims that some of the agency’s staff members were involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack within Israel, though the U.N. conducted an investigation and dismissed nine staffers in response.
The legislation bars UNRWA from functioning in Israel’s sovereign territory and forbids any interaction between Israeli officials and the agency.
Additionally, it mandates that UNRWA must cease all activities and evacuate its headquarters in East Jerusalem.
UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, warned that implementing the law at this juncture would have dire consequences, particularly as the Israeli-Hamas ceasefire holds and humanitarian efforts are underway to aid millions of Palestinians.
“Across the Gaza Strip, Palestinians are turning to UNRWA — the agency they have known all their lives — for support,” Lazzarini stated. “Curtailing our operations now — outside a political process, and when trust in the international community is so low — will undermine the ceasefire. It will sabotage Gaza’s recovery and political transition.”
While Israeli officials argue that other aid organizations could take over UNRWA’s work, Lazzarini strongly disagreed.
“Since October 2023, we have delivered two-thirds of all food assistance, provided shelter to over a million displaced persons, and vaccinated a quarter of a million children against polio,” he told the Security Council. “Since the ceasefire began, UNRWA has brought in 60% of the food entering Gaza, reaching more than half a million people.”
UNRWA also plays a vital role as the primary provider of health care and education for Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
“We are determined, however, to stay and deliver until it is no longer possible to do so,” Lazzarini affirmed.
U.N. officials have repeatedly stressed that should Israel enforce the Knesset legislation and dismantle UNRWA, Israel, as the occupying power, would bear the legal responsibility for delivering critical services to the Palestinian population.
