Severing UNRWA in Gaza is cruel and dangerous

Image by Mohammed al Bardawil on Unsplash

Source: Christian Aid

Israel's parliament has voted to pass to ban the humanitarian activities of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Israel, including east Jerusalem where the agency has its headquarters, two days after UN Humanitarian Chief, Joyce Msuya, warned: "the entire population of north Gaza is at risk of dying".

William Bell, Christian Aid's Head of Middle East Region, said: "Severing this lifeline in Gaza as winter threatens to exacerbate an already desperate situation is cruel and dangerous. By obstructing UNRWA's operations instead of facilitating them, Israel is breaching the provisional measures to prevent genocide ordered by the ICJ.

"In addition to the physical hardship this ban will impose, this is part of the Israeli state's ongoing challenge to the eligibility of Palestinian refugees to claim the right of return to their former homes across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory.

"Once again international leaders have either been unable or unwilling to protect the most basic rights of Palestinians, including their existence as a sovereign people."