Israel wants to shut down the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. What would that mean?

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel’s parliament is considering severing ties pinch nan U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, a move that could cripple nan distribution of humanitarian assistance successful nan Gaza Strip. It’s nan culmination of a long-running run against nan agency, which Israel contends has been infiltrated by Hamas. But supporters opportunity Israel’s existent purpose is to sideline nan rumor of Palestinian refugees.

The agency, known arsenic UNRWA, is nan main supplier and supplier of assistance successful Gaza and provides education, wellness and different basal services to millions of Palestinian refugees crossed nan region, including successful nan Israeli-occupied West Bank.

“If it passes and if it’s implemented, it’s a disaster,” said Juliette Touma, communications head for nan agency. “UNRWA is nan largest humanitarian statement successful Gaza ... Who tin do its job?”

Israel accuses nan agency of turning a unsighted oculus to unit members it says beryllium to Hamas, divert assistance and usage UNRWA accommodation for subject purposes. Israel says astir a twelve of its 13,000 labor successful Gaza participated successful nan Oct. 7, 2023 onslaught connected confederate Israel. The agency denies it knowingly immunodeficiency equipped groups and says it acts quickly to purge immoderate suspected militants among its staff.

The bills would mostly unopen down UNRWA successful nan Palestinian territories

The 2 bills, which person wide support successful Israel, would sever Israeli ties pinch UNRWA and nullify ineligible immunities long-held by UNRWA’s unit successful Israel. They would efficaciously barroom nan agency from operating successful Israel and nan Palestinian territories, because Israel controls entree to some Gaza and nan West Bank. It could unit nan agency to relocate its office from Israeli-annexed eastbound Jerusalem.

If passed, nan bills would travel into effect 60 to 90 days aft Israel’s Foreign Ministry notifies nan U.N., according to nan spokesperson of parliamentarian Dan Illouz, 1 of nan co-sponsors.

UNRWA’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, warned earlier this month that humanitarian operations successful Gaza “may disintegrate” if nan authorities passes, disrupting nan proviso of food, shelter and wellness attraction arsenic wintertime sets in.

Gaza’s organization of immoderate 2.3 cardinal is almost wholly limited connected assistance to survive. Around 90% of nan organization has been displaced. Hundreds of thousands unrecorded successful shelter camps and schools-turned-shelters, astir tally by UNRWA. Experts opportunity hunger is rampant. Israel’s run successful Gaza successful retaliation for nan Oct. 7 onslaught has killed complete 43,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose count does not differentiate betwixt civilians and militants.

Israel is reportedly considering taking complete assistance distribution itself aliases subcontracting it, but it has yet to put distant a actual plan. Any specified effort would apt require a ample number of troops and different resources astatine a clip erstwhile Israel is astatine warfare connected 2 fronts successful Gaza and Lebanon.

Other U.N. agencies and assistance groups opportunity location is nary substitute for UNRWA, which besides runs 96 schools hosting astir 47,000 students, 3 vocational training centers and 43 wellness centers successful nan Israeli-occupied West Bank.

A decades-old ngo rooted successful nan conflict’s bitter history

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees successful nan Near East was established to thief nan estimated 700,000 Palestinians who fled aliases were driven retired of what is now Israel during the 1948 warfare surrounding Israel’s creation,

UNRWA supporters opportunity Israel hopes to erase nan Palestinian exile rumor by dismantling nan agency. Israel says nan refugees should beryllium permanently resettled successful different countries, and Israeli opponents of nan agency person suggested ending UNRWA services would unit them to do so.

Palestinians opportunity refugees and their descendants, who now number astir 6 million, should beryllium allowed to workout their correct nether world rule to return home. Israel refuses, saying nan consequence would beryllium a Palestinian mostly wrong its borders.

The rumor was among nan thorniest successful nan bid process, which crushed to a halt successful 2009.

UNRWA operates schools, wellness clinics, infrastructure projects and assistance programs successful exile camps that person grown into municipality neighborhoods successful Gaza, nan West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

A long-running conflict complete UNRWA’s neutrality

Israel says hundreds of Palestinian militants activity for UNRWA, without providing evidence, and that much than a twelve labor took portion successful Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack.

UNRWA instantly fired nan labor accused of taking portion successful nan Oct. 7 attack, successful which Hamas-led militants killed immoderate 1,200 group and abducted astir 250.

An independent investigation earlier this twelvemonth recovered that UNRWA had “robust” mechanisms to guarantee its neutrality but pointed to gaps successful implementation, including unit publically expressing governmental views and textbooks pinch “problematic content” successful UNRWA-run schools.

UNRWA says it thoroughly investigates immoderate allegations of wrongdoing and holds unit accountable, and that it provides lists of each of its unit to Israel and big countries. It says Israel has mostly ignored its requests to supply grounds for its claims against staffers.

Israel has many times struck U.N. schools-turned-shelters, claiming Hamas fighters run wrong them. It besides says it has uncovered tunnels moving adjacent aliases nether UNRWA facilities.

UNRWA has agelong been nan biggest azygous employer successful Gaza, wherever nan organization has been impoverished by years of Israeli and Egyptian blockade. Hamas has ruled nan territory since 2007, and it has civilian governmental operations alongside its equipped wing.

The militant wings of Hamas and different groups are highly secretive, their members virtually chartless extracurricular of intelligence agencies. That complicates efforts by civilian organizations to vet employees.

Fatah Sharif, an UNRWA coach successful confederate Lebanon, was killed past period on pinch his family successful an Israeli airstrike. It past emerged that he was a elder Hamas commander, thing he had kept secret.

Lazzarini, UNRWA’s head, said Sharif was suspended without salary successful March aft nan agency learned he belonged to Hamas’ governmental party, and that an investigation had been launched. He said he didn’t cognize Sharif was a militant commandant until aft his death.

UNRWA has beardown world support

Several Western countries suspended backing for UNRWA aft nan allegations related to nan Oct. 7 attack. All isolated from nan United States, which had been its biggest donor, person since restored it.

The Biden management precocious warned Israel that if it did not let much assistance into Gaza it could suffer retired connected immoderate of nan important American subject assistance it has relied connected passim nan war.

The missive sent by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to their Israeli counterparts said they shared Israeli concerns astir “the superior allegations” of UNRWA labor taking portion successful nan Oct. 7 onslaught and of “Hamas misusing UNRWA facilities.”

But it said enacting nan bills’ restrictions “would devastate nan Gaza humanitarian consequence astatine this captious infinitesimal ... which could person implications nether applicable U.S. rule and policy.”

A associated connection from Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and Britain past week expressed “grave concern” complete nan legislation. It said nan agency provides “essential and life-saving humanitarian aid,” nan proviso of which would beryllium “severely hampered, if not impossible” without it.