Israeli Lawmakers Pass Legislation Barring Main UN Agency Providing Aid to Gazans

Israel Passes Legislation Barring Main UN Agency Providing Aid to Gazans

Israeli lawmakers on Monday passed legislation that could threaten the work of the main U.N. agency providing aid to people in Gaza by barring it from operating on Israeli soil. The bill bans the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, from conducting any activity or providing any service inside Israel.

The legislation, which wouldn’t take effect immediately, risks collapsing the already fragile aid distribution process at a moment when the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening and Israel is under increased U.S. pressure to ramp up aid.

The vote passed 92-10 and followed a fiery debate between supporters of the law and its opponents, mostly members of Arab parliamentary parties. A second bill severing diplomatic ties with UNRWA was also being voted on later Monday.

Taken together, these bills would signal a new low in relations between Israel and UNRWA, which Israel accuses of maintaining close ties with Hamas militants. The changes would also be a serious blow to the agency and to Palestinians in Gaza who have become reliant upon it for aid throughout more than a year of devastating war.

The bills risk crippling the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. More than 1.9 million Palestinians are displaced from their homes and Gaza faces widespread shortages of food, water, and medicine.

The bills, which do not include provisions for alternative organizations to oversee its work, have been strongly criticized by international aid groups and a handful of Israel’s Western allies.

This move by Israel could have significant implications for the aid distribution process in Gaza and the well-being of the Palestinian population in the region. The situation is already dire, and any disruption in aid could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis. The international community will be closely watching the developments and their impact on the people of Gaza.