Israel’s UN ambassador on Friday announced that the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees must end its operations and vacate all its premises in Jerusalem by January 30, 2025.
Defying international concerns, Israeli lawmakers have passed legislation barring the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from operating in Israel and East Jerusalem, a sector of the city annexed by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War.
We gathered that the agency has faced escalating criticism from Israel, particularly since the start of the ongoing war. This includes claims that a dozen of its 13,000 Gaza employees were involved in the deadly October 7, 2023, assault by Hamas.
In a letter addressed to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, Ambassador Danny Danon stated that UNRWA must cease its operations in Jerusalem and vacate all its premises in the city no later than January 30, 2025.
UNRWA is considered the backbone of humanitarian operations for Palestinians. It provides aid to approximately six million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria.
While East Jerusalem has long been an administrative hub for the agency, it also operates schools and health clinics in the sector.
Israel has also passed a law prohibiting contact between Israeli officials and UNRWA, though its parliament has not technically banned the agency from operating in Gaza or the West Bank.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini warned that preventing the agency from functioning could jeopardize the Gaza ceasefire, once again dashing the hopes of people who have endured unspeakable suffering.
“The work of UNRWA must continue in Gaza and across the occupied Palestinian territory,” he said on social media platform X late Friday.
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