By the staff of Chronicles of Palestine

The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Israeli Knesset on October 7 approved two bills pending final approval to be passed into law to halt UNRWA operations in Israel.

Seven countries issued a statement on Sunday warning Israel against passing a Knesset bill banning United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) operations in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, stressing the “devastating consequences” of such a move.

The signatories of the joint statement are the foreign ministers of Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom.

The countries expressed “serious concern” over the proposed bill in the Israeli Knesset, which they said seeks to revoke UNRWA’s “privileges and immunities” by “banning any contact” between Israel and the UN agency and “banning any presence UNRWA in Israel. .

The statement highlighted the important work the UN agency is doing within the vulnerable Palestinian community in the occupied territories.

“UNRWA provides essential and life-saving humanitarian aid and basic services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, East Jerusalem, the West Bank and throughout the region,” the statement said.

“Have we become so numb to Israel personally killing the UN?”

from Al Jazeera @elizondogabriel asked UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq regarding the silence over a UNRWA staff member killed by Israeli forces while driving a marked UN vehicle in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/F4RPinnNvs

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) October 28, 2024

It warned against halting UNRWA operations in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

“Without his work, the provision of such assistance and services, including education, healthcare and fuel distribution to Gaza and the West Bank would be severely hampered, if not impossible, with devastating consequences on an already critical and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, especially in northern Gaza,” the foreign ministers said.

The foreign ministers reminded Tel Aviv of the importance of various UN organizations, including UNRWA, to continue to provide aid and humanitarian assistance in accordance with their mandate.

“We urge the Israeli government to respect its international obligations, to keep UNRWA’s reserve privileges and immunities intact,” they said, stressing the need for Tel Aviv to facilitate “the provision of much-needed basic services to the civilian population.”

The foreign ministers commended the steps taken by UNRWA to “address allegations of individual staff support for terrorist organisations”, underlining the organization’s “willingness to continue and implement reform”.

The statement ended by calling on UNRWA to “continue its reform path as a priority”, while demonstrating its “commitment to the principle of neutrality”, stressing that it would closely monitor and support this process.

Israel is to debate legislation that would effectively ban the operations of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, in its occupied territories. Shadia Edwards-Dashti has the latest from occupied East Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/rlZ736Dbxc

— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) October 28, 2024

Two bills targeting UNRWA

On the occasion of the first anniversary of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Israeli Knesset on October 7 approved two bills pending final approval to be passed into law to stop the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Israel, Israeli media reported.

The Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post indicated that the first draft law stipulates that UNRWA cannot “operate any institution, provide any service or carry out any activity, directly or indirectly” in Israel.

The second indicates the immediate termination of the agreement between Tel Aviv and the international organization, which was signed following the 1967 war.

The second bill also revokes immunity and special rights previously granted to UNRWA staff.

According to the Jerusalem Post, both bills are expected to return to the Israeli Knesset for final approval on October 28, when the winter session begins.

Oh stop this performative BS please. The UK government is 100% complicit in Israel’s murderous campaign in Gaza. If you felt really strong in @FCDOGovUK you would all resign. Let’s face it, Britain has even withheld funding from UNRWA. Pure hypocrisy.

— Charlie Herbert (@Charlie533080) October 27, 2024

The genocide in Gaza continues

In violation of a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against the Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war in Gaza since October 7.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 42,924 Palestinians were KILLEDand 100,833 injured in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza as of October 7, 2023.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are missing, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Israel says 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the October 7 Al-Aqsa flood operation. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed that day by “friendly fire”.

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Palestinian and international organizations say most of those killed and injured are women and children.

The Israeli war led to an acute famine, especially in northern Gaza, which resulted in the death of many Palestinians, most of them children.

The Israeli aggression has also led to the forced displacement of nearly two million people from across the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely populated southern city of Rafah, near the border with Egypt – in what has become the most sea ​​from Palestine. mass exodus since the Nakba of 1948.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from southern Gaza to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(Palestine Chronicle)