The five Nordic countries said Wednesday that they are "deeply concerned" by bills introduced in the Knesset that would prevent the UN’s agency for “Palestinian refugees”, UNRWA, from operating in Judea, Samaria, eastern Jerusalem and Gaza, The Associated Press reported. In July, the Knesset granted initial approval for a bill that would classify UNRWA as a terrorist organization. Earlier this month, the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approved the bill for an initial vote in the plenary. A joint letter signed by the foreign ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden said that if the UN body “would no longer be able to exercise its core tasks” it could further destabilize the situation in the region, "and may fundamentally jeopardize the prospects for a two-state solution.” “Following serious allegations directed towards some workers of the Agency, we welcome the prompt follow-up action initiated by the United Nations Secretary-General and the UNRWA Commissioner General, and we expect its continued implementation,” the foreign ministers said. “Considering the above, the proposed draft legal bills that restrict UNRWA’s continued operations may entail the violation of Israel’s obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, and the legally binding provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice.” “The Nordic countries reaffirm their unwavering commitment to the United Nations and international law, including international humanitarian law. The latter requires all parties to conflicts to ensure that affected populations receive the necessary humanitarian aid to live under adequate material conditions, as well as to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers. It is on this basis that the Nordic countries call for the proposed legal bills to be reconsidered and strongly urge Israel to ensure continued and unhindered humanitarian access for UNRWA to the Palestine refugees that it was set up to serve,” the letter said. UNRWA, which has long been criticized for cooperating with Hamas, has come under increased scrutiny as its workers have been found to have been directly involved in Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Israel said in January of this year that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks. It then presented a dossier showing that the UNRWA workers who participated in the Hamas massacre kidnapped a woman, handed out ammunition and actively took part in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 people were murdered. Following the Israeli revelations, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the creation of a review group, headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, to look into the Israeli allegations. Related articles: Mahmoud Khalil hid UNRWA ties in green card application UNRWA gear found in terrorist weapons cache in Samaria 'Mahmoud Khalil seethed with hatred for Jewish state,' ‘Not a shred of evidence’ hostages held in UN facilities The group released its report in April. The report found neutrality-related issues" in UNRWA but also claimed that Israel had yet to provide evidence for allegations that a significant number of its staff were members of terrorist organizations. Recently, however, the UN acknowledged for the first time that employees of UNRWA may have been involved in Hamas’ October 7 massacre in Israel. (Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Simchat Torah and Shmini Atzeret in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
