Israel’s Parliament passed two laws on Monday that could threaten the work of UNRWA, the main U.N. agency that aids Palestinians, by barring its operations in the country. In doing so, Israel defied calls from the Biden administration, which has warned that the legislation could prompt an even greater humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Most of the laws’ provisions will not take effect for three months, and their full legal ramifications were not immediately clear. But they could hobble UNRWA’s work in Gaza, where the relief agency has played a critical role in coordinating desperately needed humanitarian aid.
Israel has criticized UNRWA for decades, arguing that its work aiding Palestinian refugees and their descendants further perpetuated the longstanding territorial conflict with Israel. The Israeli government has accused a handful of the agency’s 13,000 employees in Gaza of participating in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel last year that triggered the war.
The legislation passed on Monday night had the potential to push the agency’s operations into precarious and uncharted territory.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is under pressure from Israel’s allies, including the United States, not to move against the agency, and it was unclear how or whether the law would ultimately be implemented.
However, he has consistently excoriated the agency in the past, and hours after the bills passed, his office released a statement that said: “UNRWA workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable. Since avoiding a humanitarian crisis is also essential, sustained humanitarian aid must remain available in Gaza now and in the future.”
The statement continued: “In the 90 days before this legislation takes effect — and after — we stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel’s security.”
Several governments including Germany and Spain immediately criticized the passage of the bills. In one example, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said in a statement he was “gravely concerned,” and he said that the vote threatened the “entire international humanitarian response” in Gaza.
Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s head, said on social media that the move by the Knesset was “unprecedented and sets a dangerous precedent.”
“These bills will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza where people have been going through more than a year of sheer hell,” Mr. Lazzarini added.
He also said that the move violated Israel’s obligations under international law, an accusation rejected by Israeli lawmakers.
Under the new legislation, UNRWA would be unable to “operate any representative office, provide any service, or conduct any activity, directly or indirectly, in Israel’s sovereign territory.” They also bar any Israeli government agency from having any contact with UNRWA or those operating on its behalf.
Both bills passed with overwhelming majorities: Each secured over 80 votes in Israel’s 120-member Parliament. Lawmakers from at least two centrist parties joined Mr. Netanyahu’s governing coalition in voting for the measures, reflecting mainstream backing.
Ron Katz, one of the bills’ sponsors and a member of the centrist Yesh Atid party, bluntly equated Hamas and the U.N. agency. “We are saying simply: Israel is breaking away from a terrorist organization, Hamas, which called itself UNRWA,” he said.
For decades, UNRWA has operated schools and clinics in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and in Gaza, as well as some neighboring Arab states, serving Palestinians displaced in the war surrounding the establishment of Israel decades ago. The laws could compel UNRWA to close its office in East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in 1967 and later annexed, a move not recognized by much of the international community.
While the laws’ full consequences are not yet known, UNRWA would struggle to bring in international staff members if Israeli government agencies were barred from giving them employment visas. And it is unclear how the agency would coordinate the movement of its aid workers in Gaza with the Israeli military, even indirectly.
The United States and seven other countries, including Britain, France and Germany, had in recent days urged Israel not to ban UNRWA, arguing that its work was vital, not least for civilians in Gaza. More than 230 of the agency’s staff members have been killed since the start of the war in Gaza over a year ago.
Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman, said that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III had warned Israel in a letter that “passage of this legislation could have implications under U.S. law.” That missive had threatened a potential weapons cutoff unless Israel took steps to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
“We are deeply concerned by this proposed legislation,” Mr. Miller told reporters on Monday, shortly before the bills were passed. “They really play an irreplaceable role right now in Gaza, where they are on the front lines getting humanitarian assistance to the people who need it.”
“We continue to urge the government of Israel to pause the implementation of this legislation,” Mr. Miller added. “We urge them not to pass it at all. We will consider next steps based on what happens in the days ahead.”
Israel has increasingly worked to block the agency since January, when Israel’s government claimed that 12 of the agency’s 13,000 employees in Gaza had participated in the Oct. 7 attacks. It later added what it said were other cases and argued that scores of the agency’s employees belonged to militant groups. Israel offered little evidence to support this allegation.
In August, U.N. investigators cleared 10 UNRWA employees of taking part in the Oct. 7 attacks, but the U.N. said that nine others were fired because of possible involvement. An independent review in April commissioned by the U.N. found that UNRWA had “a more developed approach to neutrality” than other aid groups and other U.N. agencies.
Aid organizations say that Israeli efforts against UNRWA have weakened humanitarian efforts in the enclave, where the war has displaced most of the population, destroyed public sanitation and the health care system, and made food and potable water scarce. A report by experts this month warned again of famine.
Israeli officials have said that they are acting in compliance with international law and remain committed to providing humanitarian aid to Gaza, but that UNRWA should no longer operate in the enclave.
“UNRWA in Gaza is a rotten tree entirely infected with terrorist operatives,” Oren Marmorstein, a spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry, said on Monday.
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