(MENAFN- Jordan Times) The agency's offices and staff in Israel play a major role in the provision of healthcare and education to Palestinians, including those living in Gaza, which has been devastated by the war between Israel and Hamas.
Government spokesman David Mencer said on Wednesday that“UNRWA is riddled with Hamas operatives”, adding that“if a state funds UNRWA, that state is funding terrorists”.
“UNRWA employs over 1,200 Hamas members, including terrorists who carried out the October 7 massacre,” Mencer said.“This isn't aid, it's direct financial support for terror.”
Later on Wednesday, Israel's supreme court rejected a petition by Palestinian human rights group Adalah contesting the UNRWA ban.
The court said the legislation“prohibits UNRWA activity only on the sovereign territory of the State of Israel”, but“does not prohibit such activity in the areas of Judea-Samaria and the Gaza Strip”, referring to the West Bank by its biblical name.
The ban does apply, however, to Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, where UNRWA has a field headquarters for its operations in the West Bank.
'Catastrophic'
In response, Adalah said the law would come into effect“disregarding the catastrophic humanitarian consequences”.
The move, which has been backed by Israel's close ally the United States, has drawn condemnation from aid groups and US allies.
The agency says it has brought in 60 per cent of the food aid that has reached Gaza since the war started with Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel.
Israeli envoy to the United Nations Danny Danon told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that UNRWA must cease its operations and evacuate all premises it operates in East Jerusalem on Thursday.
In response, UN chief Antonio Guterres demanded that Israel rescind its order.
“I regret this decision and request that the government of Israel retract it,” he said, stressing UNRWA was“irreplaceable”.
The agency's chief, Philippe Lazzarini, said UNRWA's capacity to distribute aid“far exceeds that of any other entity”.
He called Israel's actions against UNRWA a“relentless assault... harming the lives and future of Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territory”.
Israel alleges a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the 2023 attack, and insists other agencies can step in to provide essential services, aid and reconstruction - something the UN and many donor governments dispute.
A series of investigations, including one led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some“neutrality-related issues” at UNRWA, but stressed Israel had not provided evidence for its headline allegation.
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