In reaction to the Knesset passing bills banning UNRWA from operating in areas under Israel’s control, Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa said: “Israel has bombed Palestinians to death, maimed them, starved them, and is now ridding them of their biggest lifeline of aid. Piece by piece, Israel is systematically dismantling Gaza as a land that is autonomous and liveable for Palestinians. Its banning of UNRWA today is condemnable and another step in this crime. …
“UNRWA was not only the biggest and most established agency that has been delivering aid and sustenance to the people of Gaza for years, it was also a thread that connected them in some hope of solidarity and security to the United Nations. … We join others in warning again that this will result in more death, more suffering, and more forced displacement of people from their besieged homeland. It is impossible not to believe that this is their aim.”
Oxfam also highlights: “The rights of Palestine Refugees exist separate to UNRWA, including the right of return, which was set out in resolution 194, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, and predates the creation of UNRWA in 1949. Besides the right to return, the right to family unity and the right to reparations would also remain in UNRWA’s absence, as would the refugee camps of Gaza and the West Bank.”
Prof. Francis Boyle notes that “Israel will have the obligation to take UNRWA’s place under the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, The Hague Regulations of 1907, and international humanitarian law. … If not, this would be a war crime and a crime against humanity and an element of genocide.”
See past IPA news releases: “World Court Cited UNRWA Against Israel, Now, U.S. Is Targeting It,” “Report: Israel Tortured False Confessions Out of UNRWA Staff,” and “Palestinians in Gaza Do Have Somewhere to Go: Their Homes in Israel.”