The head of the UN agency responsible for “Palestinian refugees” said on Wednesday that Israel’s newly enacted laws, which essentially prohibit the agency's activities in Israel, will create a dangerous gap that could lead to more casualties and increased instability in Gaza and Judea and Samaria.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), told The Associated Press in an interview that the legislation is “ultimately against the Palestinians themselves,” as it effectively removes a crucial provider of essential services like healthcare, education, and emergency aid.
If the Israeli decision is implemented, Lazzarini warned, “this would be a total disaster, it is like throwing (out) the baby with the water…This would create a vacuum. It would also feed more instability in the West Bank and Gaza. Having UNRWA ending its activities within the three months would also mean more people will die in Gaza.”
Lazzarini claimed that the recent Israeli laws represent what he described as “the culmination of years of attack against the agency,” adding that “the objective is to strip the Palestinian from refugee status.”
His comments come two days after the Knesset approved legislation which would ban the activities of UNRWA in Israel.
The Knesset approved the bills with a historic majority of 92 out of 120 MKs. Only 10 MKs voted against the bills, with the opposition parties National Unity, Yisrael Beytenu, and Yesh Atid supporting it. The Democrats party abstained.
The bills received initial Knesset approval in July.
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 revealed 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.
In Wednesday’s interview, Lazzarini claimed to AP that Israel has not replied to UNRWA’s requests for evidence supporting the allegations, such as terrorist use of agency facilities.
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.
The group, which released its report in April, said it 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.
