Israel set to pass bills shutting down UNRWA despite int’l pressurehttps://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-826329The Knesset is set to pass two bills on Monday that would shut down the United Nations Relief and Works Agency operations in east Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank within 90 days, despite a massive international pressure campaign against such a step.
A source in the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that the bills were expected to pass.
Foreign Ministers from Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement expressing their “grave concern” over the shutdown, particularly in light of the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza due to the war.
...
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Israeli officials last week about the importance of ensuring that UNRWA, which has serviced Palestinian refugees in east Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank since 1949, remains operational.
...
In the last year, since the Hamas-led invasion of Israel on October 7 and the IDF’s subsequent military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, Israel and the IDF have come to believe that UNRWA is so intertwined with Hamas that it can not be a neutral service provider. Worse Israel has charged that a number of UNRWA employees were involved in the seizure of captives on October 7 and that Hamas terrorists were employed by the organization.
UNRWA has made itself an ally or arm of Hamas. It should be banned by Israel, under threat of being bombed, IMO.
