UNRWA Warns of Aid Disruption for Millions of Palestinians

Gaza, MINA – The UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) has issued an urgent warning about an impending Israeli ban that could cripple its ability to provide essential services to millions of Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Anadolu Agency reported.

UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma told RTE Ireland on Friday that time is running out, as the ban is expected to come into effect in late January following a decision by the Israeli Parliament last October.

“The clock is ticking on a possible ban on UNRWA from providing essential services to millions of Palestinian refugees,” Touma said, stressing that the UN has no plans to replace the agency in the occupied territories.

“What needs to be done is for the Israeli parliament to revoke the decision,” he added.

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Touma noted that such a move is unprecedented in the history of the UN. “Never in the history of the United Nations has a member state decided to prevent a UN agency, in the middle of a war, from carrying out its work.”

Israel’s Knesset, or parliament, voted in October to ban UNRWA’s operations in areas under Israeli control, citing allegations that some of the agency’s employees were involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack, a charge the agency denies.

If enacted, the ban would close UNRWA’s offices and freeze its financial accounts in Israel, effectively halting its operations.

Established after the 1948 Nakba (Catastrophe), UNRWA has been a vital lifeline for Palestine refugees, currently providing services to nearly 5.9 million people in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

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Since October 2023, Israel’s military operation in Gaza has resulted in more than 45,700 deaths, most of them women and children, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. (T/RE1/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)

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