From the Liveblog of
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, UK express ‘grave concern’ over planned law to restrict UNRWA
Lazar Berman is The Times of Israel's diplomatic reporter
The foreign ministers of a number of key Israeli allies — Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the UK — release a joint statement expressing “grave concern” over draft legislation in the Knesset meant to prohibit the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East from operating in Israel or working with Israeli officials.
“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,” they say. “Without its work, the provision of such assistance and services, including education, health care, and fuel distribution in Gaza and the West Bank would be severely hampered if not impossible, with devastating consequences on an already critical and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, particularly in northern Gaza.”
The diplomats “urge the Israeli Government to abide by its international obligations, keep the reserve privileges and immunities of UNRWA untouched and live up to its responsibility to facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms as well as the provision of sorely needed basic services to the civilian population.”
Israel alleges that more than 10 percent of UNRWA’s staff in Gaza have ties to terror, and that educational facilities under the organization’s auspices consistently incite hatred of Israel and glorify terror. In February, the IDF revealed the existence of a subterranean Hamas data center directly beneath UNRWA’s Gaza Strip headquarters. The IDF has also repeatedly targeted Hamas command centers and gunmen hiding out in UNRWA schools.
The foreign ministers also say that UNRWA “has taken steps to address allegations regarding individual employees’ support for terrorist organizations and demonstrated its willingness to pursue and implement reform of internal processes.”
The foreign ministers call on UNRWA to demonstrate its commitment to neutrality and live up to its mandate, and say they will monitor it.
