Two controversial draft laws may be at full speed towards being passed in the Knesset, Israel’s national assembly. Together, it has one goal: to put an end to the activities of UNRWA, the United Nations organization for Palestinian refugees. It arouses great reactions in Norway and internationally. – It would be a direct disaster for vulnerable Palestinians, says Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) to news about the consequences of the laws. UNRWA provides aid and services to millions of Palestinians who have been displaced for generations. They have continued their work while the war in Gaza has raged. – When there is war, it is of course absolutely crucial that those who can work there get the opportunity to do so, emphasizes Støre. Facts about UNRWA The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) was established in 1949 to help Palestinians who were displaced when the state of Israel was established in 1948. UNRWA has around 32,000 employees and assists Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. 13,000 of the employees are in the Gaza Strip. The aid organization currently assists 5.9 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants with schooling, health services, social assistance, food and housing. UNRWA runs over 700 schools and 140 health clinics. Last year’s budget was NOK 16 billion, but in recent years UN member states have not contributed what UNRWA has asked for. UNRWA is currently led by the Swiss social economist Philippe Lazzarini, who previously worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Source: NTB, UNRWA Will put pressure on Israel’s allies On Monday, the laws will probably be passed, according to The Times of Israel. In practice, this will mean a ban on UNRWA in Israel and a halt to activity in Gaza and the West Bank. One law would prohibit Israeli authorities from having any contact whatsoever with UNRWA. The second would prevent UNRWA from operating on Israeli territory. It is the Israeli authorities that grant permission to travel into the Palestinian territories. An UNRWA employee checks in front of a school after an Israeli airstrike hit the area. Photo: EYAD BABA / AFP Støre emphasizes that Norway will make a clear statement to Israel’s supporters, countries such as the USA and Germany. – But we will also make a strong appeal to other countries, says the Prime Minister. The bill may be in breach of international law, including international humanitarian law, said the foreign ministers of the four Nordic countries, including Espen Barth Eide (Ap), in a joint statement on Wednesday. They also said it could contravene the measures imposed by the International Court of Justice, the ICJ. This has been decided by the ICJ In the spring, the International Court of Justice ICJ decided, among other things, that Israel must: Ensure that people in Gaza have access to emergency aid and that the border crossings are kept open. Do not do anything that could wipe out the Palestinians in Gaza in whole or in part. Allow commissions of inquiry and investigators access to Gaza to investigate allegations that Israel is carrying out genocide. Do not carry out an offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza. Israel began the offensive in Rafah in May. An “extremist plan” Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, calls the legislative proposals “extreme”. – It will have catastrophic consequences for an already suffering Palestinian population during a completely horrible and disproportionate bombardment in Gaza, Egeland says to news. – The decision tomorrow, if it is adopted, will mean that aid work is paralyzed and UNRWA is thrown out of its most important areas of operation. Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, believes the legislative proposals are “extremist”. He believes they could have consequences for Israel’s future in the UN. Photo: Emilie Madi He believes that parts of the government in Israel, such as Interior Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, actually want to expel the Palestinians and take control of Palestinian territory. – Destroying this organization will be part of this extremist plan, says Egeland. He points out that UNRWA is far larger than all other aid organizations in Gaza, including Unicef, the World Food Program and the Red Cross, combined. Mourners stand around the bodies of UNRWA staff killed in an Israeli attack. The photo was taken on 23 October in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. Photo: EYAD BABA / AFP There are no alternatives to take over the work, according to Egeland. This has also been pointed out by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. – None of us can replace UNRWA. That is absolutely certain, says Egeland. – If we try to double our work, it will only be a small part of the work UNRWA does today. He believes the bills are so extreme that they could also have major consequences for Israel. May affect Israel’s future in the UN UNRWA was established by a UN resolution in 1949 to help the many hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled their homes when the state of Israel was established. Since then, the organization has continued to provide basic services to the refugees and their descendants. Egeland says that the legislative proposals are in conflict with UN resolutions and the UN Charter itself. – One possible consequence is that Israel could be thrown out of the UN, he says. People search for survivors in the rubble after an Israeli attack on the Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza on October 24. Maghazi is among the many permanent Palestinian refugee camps established in the late 1940s and still standing today. Photo: EYAD BABA / AFP Britain’s Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer also warned that the bill is not in “Israel’s interest” when he spoke at a conference. – It will cause deep damage to Israel’s reputation as a democratic country if elected officials go to the step of making the delivery of food, water, medicine and health care even more difficult, said Falconer, according to The Guardian. Joint warning from seven countries On Thursday, an emergency meeting was held in UNRWA. On Sunday, the organization warned of “serious consequences” if the bills go through – The laws will make it impossible for UNRWA to carry out its mandate, they emphasize. A truck with an UNRWA logo was smashed in an Israeli attack in Deir el-Balah on 23 October. Photo: EYAD BABA / AFP On Saturday, there was also a joint statement from the foreign ministers of another seven countries: Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Korea and Great Britain. They emphasize that UNRWA provides “vital emergency aid and basic services for Palestinian refugees”. They too warn of “catastrophic” consequences without UNRWA. Especially in northern Gaza, where Israel is carrying out major ground attacks. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of people have been trapped in the ruins, cut off from the rest of Gaza and without access to emergency aid. UNRWA has long been a horn in the side for many in Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Among other things, Israel has claimed that 450 UNRWA employees worked for militant groups in Gaza and that several participated in the 7 October attack in Israel. Several countries put payments to UNRWA on hold. Norway was not among them. An independent commission of inquiry later determined that Israel lacked evidence. UNRWA also fired around 20 staff for having a role in the 7 October attack. Interested in abroad? Listen to the foreign affairs editor’s podcast: Published 28.10.2024, at 06.11
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