Israeli parliament passes law to ban Unrwa from operating inside country

[Javaman]

Source: The Guardian

Israeli lawmakers have passed legislation that could threaten the work of the main UN agency providing aid to people in Gaza by barring it from operating on Israeli soil.

The bill bans the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or Unrwa, from conducting “any activity” or providing any service inside Israel.

The legislation, which does not 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 US pressure to ramp up aid.

The vote was passed 92-10 and followed a fiery debate between supporters of the law and its opponents, mostly members of Arab parliamentary parties.

more at link....

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/28/israeli-lawmakers-pass-bill-that-could-halt-unwra-relief-work-in-gaza

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this is kind of fucked up

[applegrove]

1. This is f***ed up.

[sarisataka]

2. I think Sinwar found having a UNRWA ID on his body

was the proverbial straw. It has been clear the UNRWA, if not actively aiding Hamas as has been accused, has been deeply corrupted by Hamas or their supporters.

[applegrove]

3. That is f***ed up too.

[sarisataka]

4. Indeed it is

sadly, it is the Palestinian people who will suffer

[applegrove]

5. Hamas treats Palestinian civilians like cannon fodder.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. That was disproved. There was a passport that expired in 2017 belonging to a different person

who is still alive, and has been in Egypt since April - see https://www.msn.com/en-gb/video/watch/what-we-know-about-the-%E2%80%98unrwa-id%E2%80%99-allegedly-found-amidst-sinwar%E2%80%99s-belongings/vi-AA1sFomX?ocid=hpmsn

So it was just a stolen ID.

[sarisataka]

7. So the story about the ID has turned to be false however,

one of his bodyguards was a UNRWA teacher.

[muriel_volestrangler]

9. No, the claim about the bodyguard was based solely on the ID

The UNRWA teacher is alive and well in Egypt, and has proven this on social media (even with an up-to-date passport).

[sarisataka]

10. I watched the video

The ID on Sinwar was the one that belonged to the living teacher in Egypt. At the end of the video as they summarized the findings they repeated that Sinwar had the passport and that a bodyguard was a UNRWA teacher.

If you want, the summary begins at 3:39 of the video.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. What they say is that Israeli media had claimed one of the bodyguards was an UNRWA teacher

but the only reason they claimed that was the ID. Which belongs to the living guy in Egypt. Israeli media jumped to a wrong conclusion - shock horror.

[sarisataka]

12. The France 24 report does not support that position.

They neither confirmed nor denied the status of the bodyguard being a member of the UNRWA. Pointedly, their communications with the UNRWA also did not address the question.

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. There was no evidence apart from the passport pointing to an UNRWA teacher, and it belongs

to a different person, who is alive and in a different country. UNRWA confirmed the ID belongs to him, not the bodyguard.

What you're doing is just saying "I believe this with zero evidence, because it was suggested before the one piece of evidence was shown to be irrelevant".

[Steven Maurer]

22. Why didn't the UNRWA teacher report the ID as stolen?

We all know why: because he's a Hamas supporter who gave them his ID.

Unwra classrooms are filled with 7 year old kids who have been propagandized to murder jews. There is video of them.

This move is not only good -- it's overdue.

[muriel_volestrangler]

25. Because he was in Egypt? Because he'd been bombed out of his home?

Maybe he did report it, but the Hamas-controlled police ignored it. Or maybe he did know about it, and was OK with it.

No, you have no idea at all if he's a Hamas supporter. And that's the problem with the Israeli attitude to UNRWA - people claim the worst, thinking that The Other are all awful.

This move is opposed by the Democratic US government:

U.S. 'Deeply Troubled' By Israeli Ban On UNRWA, Aid Agency Helping Palestinians

The United States is "deeply troubled" by legislation approved by the Israeli parliament that bans UNRWA, the main United Nations agency bringing assistance to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and elsewhere in the Middle East, including Israel.

Responding to the move outlawing UNRWA from carrying out any activities in Israel and prohibiting any contact between Israeli authorities and the UN aid group, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington has made clear its concerns and opposition to the legislation.

"We are deeply troubled by this legislation. It could shutter UNRWA operations in the West Bank, in Gaza, in East Jerusalem," he told a briefing late on October 29.

"It poses risks for millions of Palestinians who rely on UNRWA for essential services, including health care and primary and secondary education," Miller added, noting UNRWA's "critical role in providing services to Palestinians."

https://www.rferl.org/a/washington-deeply-troubled-israeli-ban-unrwa/33179289.html

[Eko]

20. Seems like that isnt true.

Israeli media said last week that the two men killed alongside Hamas head Yahya Sinwar were his bodyguards, and that one of them worked for the UN agency UNRWA. It later posted photos of items allegedly found at the scene, including an "UNRWA ID", leading to online accusations that the UN agency is linked to Hamas or that Sinwar was falsifying his identity. However, the document is an expired passport belonging to a man who is very much alive, and who has fled Gaza.
https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/truth-or-fake/20241021-what-we-know-about-the-unrwa-id-allegedly-found-amidst-sinwar-s-belongings
That is not UNRWA helping hamas, that is a bodyguard having someone else's expired passport. Expired.

[AloeVera]

26. Don't kid yourself.

You know this has been in the works for a long time.

Another one of Israel's long-held dreams realized.

Oct 7th has made a lot of previously impossible things possible.

This is very sad news for the Palestinian people, though I know a cause for celebration for those who want them gone.

[bullimiami]

8. Rogue government.

[maxsolomon]

14. What is the practical effect of this?

How does UNWRA operate on Israeli soil?

Do they pick up food shipments on the other side of the Northern crossings?

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. They have to be able to function in Israel - for the West Bank as well as Gaza

The foreign ministers of responsible countries have said this is a huge danger:

We, the Foreign Ministers of Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom, express our grave concern over legislation currently under consideration by the Israeli Knesset, aimed at revoking the privileges and immunities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), forbidding any contact between Israeli state entities, officials and UNRWA, and prohibiting any UNRWA presence within Israel.

UNRWA provides essential and life-saving humanitarian aid and basic services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, East Jerusalem, the West Bank and throughout the region. Without its work, the provision of such assistance and services, including education, health care, and fuel distribution in Gaza and the West Bank would be severely hampered if not impossible, with devastating consequences on an already critical and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, particularly in northern Gaza.

It is crucial that UNRWA and other UN organizations and agencies be fully able to deliver humanitarian aid and their assistance to those who need it most, fulfilling their mandates effectively. We urge the Israeli Government to abide by its international obligations, keep the reserve privileges and immunities of UNRWA untouched and live up to its responsibility to facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms as well as the provision of sorely needed basic services to the civilian population.

We once again condemn in the strongest possible terms the brutal and unjustified terror attacks by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023. UNRWA has taken steps to address allegations regarding individual employees’ support for terrorist organizations and demonstrated its willingness to pursue and implement reform of internal processes in line with the independent review of April 2024, led by Ms. Catherine Colonna, on UNRWA neutrality. We call on UNRWA to continue its path of reform as a priority, demonstrating its commitment to the principle of neutrality, and ensure that its activities remain entirely in line with its mandate. We will continue to actively monitor and support this process.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-ministers-statement-on-legislation-against-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-under-consideration

[maxsolomon]

16. That's well-written but I still don't understand whether UNWRA employees

ever go to Israel to coordinate aid, but regardless, the bill bans any contact w/ Israel, period.

I guess the non-Resident employees have to travel through Israel to access the controlled territories.

I don't understand the "immunities" part.

[muriel_volestrangler]

18. They have to coordinate with the IDF

The legislation is expected to lead to the closure of UNRWA's headquarters in annexed East Jerusalem, which serves as the management and administrative hub for all its activities in the Palestinian territories. According to Israeli media reports, the premises would be converted into housing.

The no-contact policy means that Israel would no longer issue work and entry permits to international and local UNRWA staff or allow any coordination with the Israeli military, which is essential for the passage of aid into Gaza via the crossings. Israel also currently controls the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

''UNRWA's activities in the occupied Palestinian territories rely "heavily on ongoing coordination with Israeli authorities in all aspects of its operation," the Israeli-Palestinian human rights organization Adalah wrote in a letter to Israel's attorney general and the Knesset's legal adviser. "This coordination includes the establishment of operational headquarters, obtaining visas, residence and work permits for staff, coordinating with military authorities on operational matters."

https://www.dw.com/en/israeli-knesset-votes-to-cut-off-unrwas-aid-to-palestinians/a-70614570

[maxsolomon]

19. Thanks.

Wow. Sounds completely knee-jerk and unworkable.

[Blue Full Moon]

17. There should be zero support for Netanyahu

He has been in contact with tRump and putting egg on Biden's face. He has not been bargaining in good faith. In fact today in news it was said he isn't going to until we have our elections.( He knows something that we don't?)

[Eko]

21. Its an authoritarian government heading toward fascism.

Hamas is really really bad but the Israel government is not good at all.

[Orrex]

23. Well, this will make Netanyahu's ongoing campaign to murder children that much easier

[lark]

24. Murderers!

Kamala better stop on day 1 sending any offensive weapons to Israel - stop every dollar used to kill homeless, starving, children.

[enid602]

27. Blame

“ The vote was passed 92-10 and followed a fiery debate between supporters of the law and its opponents, mostly members of Arab parliamentary parties.”

Remember this paragraph when ordinary Israelis later blame atrocities on just a few right wingers in the War Cabinet,

[AloeVera]

28. Condemnation from around the world. Including the U.S.

[The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda] Thomas-Greenfield said there was no alternative to Unrwa for delivering aid to Gaza and Washington had “real concerns” about the laws. Unrwa is the largest provider of humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians, including health and education services.

The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the decision by the Israeli parliament was “intolerable” and would have “devastating consequences”.

The Knesset decision was also set to be condemned by the UN security council, where there is a strong view that the UN collectively cannot afford for a member state to act unilaterally to destroy an agency set up by a general assembly resolution.

Israel's proposal and action has also been condemned by global leaders including the leaders of the UK, Germany, Canada, Japan, among many others.

At the U.N., the U.S. Ambassador also said:

Israel is not addressing the “catastrophic humanitarian crisis” in Gaza, the US envoy to the United Nations has said as a deadline imposed by Washington looms for the Israelis to improve the situation or face potential restrictions on military aid.

“Israel’s words must be matched by action on the ground,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the security council. “Right now, that is not happening. This must change – immediately.”

The US told Israel on 13 October that it must take steps within 30 days or face consequences including the potential stopping of US weapons transfers. “The US has stated clearly that Israel must allow food, medicine and other supplies into all of Gaza – especially the north, and especially as winter sets in – and protect the workers distributing it,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/29/gaza-aid-unrwa-ban-guterres-israel-reaction

It's time for the UN and Western leaders to seriously consider revoking Israel's UN membership. Israel laughs in the UN's face, makes a mockery of its charter and international laws, ignores its countless resolutions, demonizes and belittles it, destroys its agency, and kills hundreds of its workers. WTH UN and the West, what will it take? The completion of the genocide?