What are in the bills passed by Israel to ban the Palestinian refugee agency, and what services is it responsible for?
The Israeli Knesset has passed a bill banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and another that will likely scale back aid distribution across war-ravaged Gaza.
UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) supports Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, as well as surrounding countries.
The Knesset passed the laws on Monday despite strong international condemnation.
So what are in the bills and what activities is UNRWA responsible for in the Palestinian territory?
One bill makes it illegal for Israeli officials to have any contact with UNRWA. The second prohibits UNRWA from conducting activities within Israel’s borders – a rule that will come into effect in three months.
This will make it impossible for the agency to obtain any entrance permits to operate in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip – both of which are under Israeli control.
It will also make it impossible for the agency to transport assistance through Israeli territory to Palestinians in need.
This is not the first time UNRWA has come under pressure from Israeli authorities.
At the time, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq stated: “We have sufficient information … to take the actions that we’re taking – which is to say, the termination of these nine individuals.”
Most countries have since restored funding to UNRWA.
UNRWA is the main humanitarian organisation in Gaza and the West Bank and also operates in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
It was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 after the 1948 Nakba to protect and assist Palestinians ethnically cleansed from their homes.
It became operational on May 1, 1950, and since then has helped generations of refugees, many of whom still live in camps.
What will the bills do?
It provides education, healthcare, social services and emergency relief to people living in refugee camps in the Palestinian territory, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
In the past 70 years, roughly six million Palestinians have relied on UNRWA’s support.
Aside from emergency relief and year-round assistance that the impoverished population needs to survive, UNRWA offers primary healthcare and mental health support.
Its services also include schools where more than half a million children were studying before Israel launched its war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Among the projects it oversees, UNRWA also tries to provide employment opportunities, microfinance programmes and support to Palestinians who want to develop income-generating initiatives
Many UNRWA operations are in Palestinian refugee camps, but it does not build, own or operate any camps, and it provides humanitarian services both in and outside camps, to any Palestinian in need.
UNRWA clinics see about 8.5 million patient visits a year to 144 healthcare centres.
It also employs more than 3,300 healthcare staff, which makes it a significant employer in the Palestinian health sector.
UNRWA’s social services programmes include schemes from helping women enter the workforce to supporting people with disabilities.
It runs several skills training programmes, both vocational and professional.
Much in the same vein of its employment of Palestinians in the healthcare sector, UNRWA itself provides employment opportunities to the Palestinians who staff its centres, which offer things from training women in traditional crafts, sewing, knitting and embroidery to physical rehabilitation centres for injured Palestinians or Palestinians living with a disability.
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