International criticism of Israel’s ban of UNRWA aid for Palestinians

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Israel’s decision to pass new laws that ban the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency UNRWA has caused reaction from across the world.
The new legislation forbids the UN agency from conducting any activity in Israel, designating it as a terrorist organisation.
The bill has met with global criticism, with some governments and international bodies going as far as to condemn Israel’s decision.
Stephane Dujarric the spokesperson for the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, has called on the Israeli government to reconsider.
“The Secretary-General emphasised that UNRWA is the principal means by which essential assistance is supplied to Palestine refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. There is no alternative to UNRWA. He calls on Israel to act consistently with its obligations under the Charter of the UN and its other obligations under international law, including international  humanitarian law and those concerning the privileges and immunities of the United Nations.”
The EU Commission spokesperson Nabila Masrali claims this legislation could have dire consequences on the human relief efforts not just in Gaza, but the overall Middle East region.
“The voting of last night is forbidding, forbidding the contacts between Israel state entities and the United Nations relief at work is extremely worrying. Why? I will tell you, because the consequences are extremely worrying and are making it impossible for UNRWA’s vital operations in Gaza to operate. As we see it, there is no alternative to UNRWA. As we speak, UNRWA provides essential services to millions of people in Gaza, but not only to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and across the region, including Lebanon, Syria, Jordan.”
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says the White House is planning to express its concerns to the Israeli government regarding the new legislation.
“We are going to engage with the government of Israel in the days ahead about how they plan to implement and implement it. We are going to watch and see if there are legal challenges to the law and if there is any impact by those legal challenges, and then we will make our decisions after looking at all of those factors.”
Responding to the Israeli government’s actions, representatives of the U-N agency claim they could lead to an even greater escalation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
UNRWA spokesperson John Fowler says the decision endangers the lives of thousands of civilians in Gaza.
“What is lost is potentially the lives of the people in the Gaza Strip. Because we are the essential player in the humanitarian operation. The population is on life support there, and if you unplug the machine, which we are, the consequences are kind of obvious. That’s the risk. In a broader sense, also in the West Bank, jobs are lost, clinics are closed, the level of well-being in the population that’s another concern.”
The legislation was passed through the Israeli parliament following accusations that UNRWA has been infiltrated by members of Hamas and was being used to carry out the military group’s actions.
Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer says the United Nations needs to restructure the organisation.
“Now, it is time in terms of the future for the international community, first and foremost, the United Nations to rethink and do what’s right in order to really be able to help Palestinians instead of just sticking to former ideas of an UNRWA which was infiltrated, taken over and eventually massively misused by the terrorists.”
Meanwhile, military group Hezbollah has announced the appointment of Naim Qassem as their new leader.
It comes following the death of Hassan Nasrallah who was killed during an Israeli air strike in Beirut last September.
Qassem was Nasrallah’s deputy and has remained in that role since 1991.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says Qassem’s tenure could be the shortest in the organisation’s history.
The comments interpreted as a threat by Lebanon’s ambassador to the U- N Salim Baddoura.
Speaking at the UN Security Council, he’s called for the implementation of U-N resolution 1701 to put an end to all acts of aggression.
“Our children, our women, our paramedics are being targeted with bunker buster bombs, vacuum bombs and explosive drones. The number of those killed is in the thousands. The international community remains silent, perhaps desensitised by the thousands killed in Gaza. It is no longer moved by the bloodshed or the images of body parts. The credibility of the United Nations and your council is on the line. All your resolutions on the Middle East are still not implemented.”
Gaza’s civil defence agency says 93 people have been killed or wounded, including many women and children, and dozens more are missing following an Israeli air strike on the city of Beit Lahiya on Tuesday.
It comes as the latest figures from the Gaza health ministry show the number of people killed since the start of the war last year has surpassed 43,000.