UNRWA Condemns Israeli Legislation Targeting Agency Operations

Dec. 31—The Israeli Knesset has voted up legislation that would withdraw recognition of the diplomatic status of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This would mean it loses diplomatic immunity, lawsuits can be filed against it, and Israeli companies cannot provide it with water, electricity, fuel, and communications infrastructure.

Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner General of UNRWA posted a response on X. “Yesterday’s vote by the Israeli parliament passing new legislation against UNRWA is outrageous. It is a direct affront to the mandate granted to the Agency by the UN General Assembly and contrary to findings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).”

According to UNRWA, the legislation allows the Israeli government to expropriate UN properties in East Jerusalem, including its headquarters and main vocational training center. It also excludes UNRWA from Israeli laws implementing the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.

The Commissioner-General said the move extends earlier laws that banned UNRWA’s operations in occupied East Jerusalem and halted contact between Israeli officials and the agency. He described the legislation as part of a systematic effort to discredit UNRWA and weaken its role in providing essential services, including health care and education, to Palestinians.

The statement also highlighted recent incidents on the ground, including the forced closure of UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem and the storming of a UN compound by Israeli agents earlier this month. UNRWA warned that the measures are already having a direct impact on humanitarian operations across the occupied Palestinian territory, including Gaza, where the agency plays a central role in aid delivery. 

Sources report that a recent special examination of aid flows and their distribution in Gaza conducted at the request of the White House by the State Department and other agencies found that Israel's unwarranted attack on UNWRA was a "major factor" in severely limiting distribution of aid to starving and threatened populations and that no agency or combination of agencies has come close to filling the void created.