From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
UNRWA chief vows to continue aid to Palestinians despite Israeli ban
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The UN’s Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA will continue to provide aid to people in the Palestinian territories despite an Israeli ban due to be implemented by the end of January, its director says.
“We will… stay and deliver,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini tells a conference in Oslo. “UNRWA’s local staff will remain and continue to provide emergency assistance and where possible, education and primary health care,” he says.
It’s not immediately clear how UNRWA will operate in areas controlled by Israel.
The laws passed by Israel bar UNRWA from operating in Israeli territory and prevent Israeli authorities from having any contact with the agency.
Israel has long had an adversarial relationship with UNRWA, accusing it of perpetuating the Palestinian refugee crisis, as it allows Palestinians to maintain the status for generations both in and outside the Palestinian territories. But Jerusalem’s campaign against UNRWA intensified significantly following Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.
Over a dozen UNRWA staffers were found to have participated in the attack, and there has been a drumbeat of revelations in the year that followed regarding the extent to which Hamas has managed to infiltrate the agency.
The Times of Israel Community.