Israel's ban on UNRWA sparks outcry

The international community has decried Israel's ban on the United Nations' Palestinian aid agency from operating within Israel and Palestinian areas under Israeli control.

Considered a lifeline for Palestinians, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, which was founded in 1949, has seen its future thrown into jeopardy following the "unprecedented" passing of a law by the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, on Monday, with observers saying the sanction could have far-reaching humanitarian, legal and political implications and set a dangerous precedent.

Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the UN, said preventing UNRWA from continuing its essential work in the occupied Palestinian territory would have "devastating consequences for the Palestinian refugees", and called on Israel to act consistently with its obligations under the Charter of the UN and international law.

"National legislation cannot alter those obligations. ... There is no alternative to UNRWA," said Guterres.

Palestinian Presidential Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh rejected and condemned the new Israeli legislation, which he said "aims to liquidate the issue of refugees and their right to return and compensation" and that "we will not allow it".

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was "gravely concerned", and the law risks making UNRWA's "essential work for Palestinians impossible, jeopardizing the entire international humanitarian response in Gaza".

Several countries including Australia, Jordan, Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain also condemned the Israeli legislation.

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA, said in a post on social media platform X that the Knesset's vote was the "latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA and delegitimize its role towards providing human-development assistance and services to Palestine Refugees".

Common mechanism

"Failing to push back these bills will weaken our common multilateral mechanism established after World War II. This should be a concern to all," he added.

Walaa Sabah, director of operations at We Are Not Numbers in Gaza, a youth-led Palestinian nonprofit, told China Daily the Israeli parliament's move delivers a clear message denying the right of return for Palestinians with refugee status, directly violating the UN charter and international law.

"The UN stands as the primary advocate for refugee rights in Gaza. Without its support, Palestinians in Gaza would lose all humanitarian aid, effectively placing their lives under Israeli government control, and enabling a more systematic and complete erasure of Palestinian identity," said Sabah.

Arie Afriansyah, associate professor at the Faculty of Law at Universitas Indonesia, told China Daily such a policy "will only make clearer" how desperate Israel is to "blame any party".

Israel's justification for the legislation cited past UNRWA staff members for their alleged involvement in the Hamas-led Oct 7 attacks against Israel last year, which killed 1,200 people and took about 240 hostages.

On the battlefield, an Israeli strike on a five-story building where displaced Palestinians were sheltering in the northern Gaza Strip killed at least 60 people early on Tuesday, more than half of them women and children, Gaza's Health Ministry said. Israel's operation has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to the ministry.

In a separate development, Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah said it has chosen Naim Qassem to succeed longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last month. Hezbollah vowed to continue with Nasrallah's policies "until victory is achieved".