UN Letter, Israel Officially Withdraws From 1967 UNRWA Recognition Agreement

UNRWA service at the Palestinian refugee shelter. (Twitter/@UNRWA)

JAKARTA - Israel's Foreign Ministry has officially notified the United Nations that the country withdrew from a 1967 agreement recognizing the Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, after Knesset passed legislation to strictly restrict the agency's operations in Israel and its occupied territories.

Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jacob Blitshtein sent a letter to UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang of Cameroon, informing Israel "Israel will continue to cooperate with international partners, including other United Nations agencies, to ensure facilitation of humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza in a way that does not jeopardize Israel's security. Israel expects the United Nations to contribute and cooperate in this effort," the Times of Israel reported November 4.

Last week, Knesset passed a bill banning UNRWA from operating from Israeli territory and banned Israeli government agencies from cooperating with UNRWA. The bill will take effect in the coming three months.

"UNRWA organizations whose staff participated in the October 7 massacre and many of its staff were members of Hamas are part of the problem in the Gaza Strip and not part of the solution," said Israeli Foreign Minister Katz.

"PBB is presented with endless evidence about Hamas members working at UNRWA and about the use of UNRWA facilities for terror purposes and no action against them," he added.

Foreign Minister Katz also noted that currently only 13 percent of aid to Gaza is channeled through UNRWA, arguing that the idea of no alternative other than UNRWA is fiction.

Israel's new laws make the United Nations and some of Israel's Western allies fear it will further worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where Israel has been battling Hamas militants for a year.

Citing The Jerusalem Post, the bill received 92-10 votes, in which opposition parties such as National Unity, YiIsrael Beytenu and Yesh Atid provided support, while the Democratic Party voted abstained.

The Israeli parliament also authorized the addendum to the new law stating that Israeli authorities could no longer be in touch with UNRWA, but exceptions to it could be made in the future.

UNRWA, the United Nations Agency for Assistance and Work for Palestinian Refugees, employs tens of thousands of workers and provides education, health, and assistance to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.

Relations with Israel have long been strained, but relations have deteriorated sharply since the start of the war in Gaza and Israel have repeatedly called for UNRWA to be dissolved, and its responsibilities have been transferred to other UN agencies.

Last August the United Nations said nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the October 7 attack and have been sacked.

Meanwhile, a Hamas commander in Lebanon - who died last month in an Israeli attack - was found to have a job at UNRWA. Another commander who died in Gaza last week also worked as a UN aid worker. UNRWA has confirmed that the two men are employees.

"If the United Nations is not willing to remove this organization from terrorism, from Hamas activists, then we must take action to ensure that they cannot harm our people anymore," Israeli lawmaker Sharren Haskel said.

"The international community can take responsibility and ensure that they use the right organization to facilitate humanitarian aid, such as the World Food Organization, such as UNICEF, and many others working around the world," Haskel continued.

Israel itself has faced great international pressure to do more to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, giving more access to aid to people displaced by Israeli operations.

Before the law was passed, foreign ministers from France, Germany, Britain, Japan and South Korea, Canada and Australia issued statements expressing "deep concern."

"It is imperative that UNRWA and other UN organizations and agencies fully provide humanitarian assistance and assistance to those most need it, fulfilling their mandate effectively," the statement said.