UNRWA has served Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria since receiving its mandate from the United Nations General Assembly in 1949. During the Gaza war, the need for humanitarian assistance has become widespread and relief is being distributed to the needy population in coordination with UN agencies.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, Jeremy Lawrence, spokesman for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said the implementation of the law would affect the rights of all dependents of the UN agency.
“Without UNRWA, food, health care, education and other services for the majority of Gaza’s population would be completely disrupted.”
“Over the past year, civilians have paid a heavy price for this violent conflict, and this decision will now make things worse for them.”
The UN agency’s spokesman reiterated Israel’s failure to comply with international law over the killing of thousands of civilians in its bombing of Gaza.
Jeremy Lawrence states that Israel is bound by obligations set forth under many treaties, including international agreements on economic and social rights.
‘unbearable steps’
Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on Monday passed two bills against the UN agency by a margin of 92-10, with provisions to ban the agency.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that the move could not be tolerated, affecting the lives and health of people who depend on UNRWA.
WHO spokesman Tarik Yasarevich said that one in four UNRWA workers in the Gaza Strip is a health worker, who is busy saving lives in addition to regular work.
Last year, they provided health care to more than six million people in medical centers run by the United Nations. More than half of Gaza’s population is being given this benefit.
These health teams are reported to be part of routine immunization efforts for children as well as early screening for disease and malnutrition.
Blockage of relief vehicles
It has now been more than a year since Hamas launched a retaliatory military operation in the Gaza Strip following the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel. A spokeswoman for the United Nations health agency said the local population was devastated and was not receiving enough external aid.
This month, 25 requests for assistance were sent to the UN mission, of which only seven were fulfilled, while others were either rejected or blocked.
Tarek Yasarevitch said that if there is no ceasefire agreement for humanitarian reasons, it will not be possible to carry out the second dose of polio vaccine to children in northern Gaza.
Meanwhile, Jens Lark of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) emphasized keeping diplomatic options open. He said it was necessary for the millions of Palestinians to whom UNRWA provides assistance in the occupied territories.
He explained that efforts are being made to prevent the bill passed by the Knesset from going into effect, since if it becomes law, it will be another act of collective punishment by Israel for the residents of Gaza.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Catherine Russell emphasized UNRWA’s role in providing critical assistance to Palestinian children and families. He warned that the lives and futures of young children in Gaza were at risk.