Knesset Decision To Bar UN Palestinian Refugee Agency Draws Strong Global Response
Critics say the Knesset decision will leave millions of Palestinians without basic services, while Israeli lawmakers argue that it strengthens security
The Israeli Knesset has enacted two bills to end all operations by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) within Israeli-controlled territories, including East Jerusalem. With overwhelming support, lawmakers voted Monday to pass the legislation, which restricts UNRWA’s access to Palestinian areas under Israeli control. The decision has been met with strong opposition from international allies, humanitarian organizations, and the United Nations, which argue it will drastically impact essential services for millions of Palestinian refugees.
The bills, supported by members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and the right-wing opposition Yisrael Beitenu party, include provisions that cut all Israeli government contact with UNRWA, which has provided food, education, and medical aid to Palestinian refugees for over 70 years. The legislation, which bars UNRWA from operating in Israel or areas under Jerusalem’s control, would likely make the Gaza Strip and West Bank—even the areas under autonomous Palestinian self-government—inaccessible to the agency. The measure also withdraws UNRWA’s tax exemptions, closes its East Jerusalem offices, and bans entry permits for its staff, further restricting the agency’s ability to function in the region. Israeli officials claim the decision is a necessary security step, alleging that the UN agency supports Hamas, the armed Palestinian group that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007. Hamas is classified by the US, the EU, and Israel as a terrorist organization.
UNRWA has long been a target of Israeli criticism, with officials asserting that the agency’s education programs encourage anti-Israel sentiment. Following the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas fighters, Israeli lawmakers accelerated the push to ban UNRWA, alleging that some agency staff were linked to Hamas. UNRWA denies these accusations, noting that fewer than 1% of its employees have ever been investigated for alleged Hamas affiliations. UNRWA also denies allegations that it incites violence or promotes hatred in its educational programs, stating that its staff adhere to UN standards of neutrality and impartiality.
The passage of these bills threatens to disrupt the lives of the nearly 6 million Palestinian refugees who depend on UNRWA across the Middle East. In Gaza alone, UNRWA services approximately 1.7 million people, providing education, food distribution, health care, and temporary shelter for displaced persons. Its work extends to Palestinian refugee communities in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank. Critics of the Knesset’s decision say that without UNRWA, many Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank will lose access to lifesaving aid, creating a humanitarian vacuum in territories that Israel currently occupies and controls.
UNRWA is indispensable and irreplaceable
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the Knesset’s decision, calling it a “catastrophe” that will have “disastrous” consequences for Palestinian refugees and Israel’s international standing. He said that UNRWA was “indispensable and irreplaceable” for Palestinian welfare and that this measure contradicts Israel’s obligations under international law as a UN member state. Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, also criticized the legislation, arguing that it would destabilize the region and reduce humanitarian support for millions of Palestinians, especially in Gaza. Human rights organizations, including the Haifa-based Adalah, contend that restricting UNRWA violates Israel’s duty to facilitate humanitarian aid and contravenes rulings from the International Court of Justice, which has mandated that Israel support basic services for the occupied territories.
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UNRWA was established in 1949 to provide aid to all “Palestine refugees” displaced during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, including both Arabs and Jews who lost homes and livelihoods amid the conflict. Initially, UNRWA served displaced Jewish populations, but this assistance was phased out as Jewish refugees were resettled within Israel, where they gained citizenship and government support. Conversely, millions of Palestinian refugees remain stateless in the region, many in refugee camps.
Due to the lack of a political resolution to their status, UNRWA’s mandate has continued to encompass Palestinian communities in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, providing services that range from food aid to education. UNRWA’s schools educate over half a million Palestinian children, and its clinics serve millions annually, making it a crucial lifeline for refugees whose living conditions remain harsh and uncertain.
Israel’s decision to dismantle UNRWA operations is unprecedented in the agency’s history. The US, historically UNRWA’s largest donor, had urged Israel to reconsider the legislation, warning that it could leave a humanitarian void Israel would then be responsible for addressing. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed “deep concern,” noting that UNRWA’s services are “irreplaceable” in Gaza, the West Bank, and refugee camps throughout Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. Blinken warned that US policy and law could be affected by Israel’s decision to dismantle the UN agency’s operations. UNRWA, he added, provides essential relief to one of the world’s most vulnerable populations, and its shutdown could further destabilize the region.
UNRWA is not a refugee aid agency; it is an aid agency for Hamas
The push to dismantle UNRWA has met with mixed responses within Israel. Lawmakers sponsoring the legislation argue that the UN agency perpetuates the conflict by reinforcing the idea that millions of descendants of the Palestinians displaced in the 1948 war retain a “right of return” to Israel, an issue central to Israeli-Palestinian tensions. Likud Member of Knesset Boaz Bismuth, one of the bill’s architects, stated that “UNRWA is not a refugee aid agency; it is an aid agency for Hamas.” Similarly, Yisrael Beitenu’s Yulia Malinovsky said that UNRWA “educates children to hate Israel” and encourages violence. They argue that Palestinian refugee status, passed down through generations, fuels anti-Israel sentiment and that UNRWA has become a political instrument rather than a humanitarian agency.
It will deprive over 650,000 girls and boys there from education, putting at risk an entire generation of children
UNRWA officials and Palestinian rights advocates argue that the agency’s presence is a symptom, not a cause, of the unresolved Palestinian refugee crisis. They maintain that the lack of a peace process and political resolution has kept the refugee issue in limbo and that dismantling UNRWA will not eliminate the need for its services. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has argued that removing the agency will intensify the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza, where the humanitarian situation has reached critical levels. He warned that the ban would “deprive over 650,000 girls and boys there from education, putting at risk an entire generation of children” and escalate the crisis in the occupied territories.
Humanitarian groups worldwide expressed solidarity with UNRWA following the Knesset’s decision, with multiple governments calling on Israel to reverse course. Foreign ministers from Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the UK issued a joint statement on Monday, expressing “grave concern” over the ban’s potential impact on health, education, and essential aid to Palestinian refugees. The ministers emphasized that without UNRWA’s support, delivering aid in Gaza and the West Bank would become nearly impossible, exacerbating instability and hardships for millions of people.
With the bills passing their final readings, Israel’s plan to expel UNRWA from territories under its control will now move forward. Observers fear that the decision may set a troubling precedent for other international agencies operating in conflict zones worldwide. Israel has previously proposed merging UNRWA’s responsibilities with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which would significantly alter the agency’s mandate. While UNHCR assists refugees globally, it lacks UNRWA’s specific focus on Palestinians, which critics say would limit the support available to Palestinian communities.
The future of UNRWA’s presence in Gaza and the West Bank is uncertain, as the legislation requires the Israeli foreign minister to notify the UN within a week, effectively initiating the agency’s withdrawal. US officials, including Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, have cautioned that Israel’s decision could compromise American support and trigger diplomatic repercussions. Austin reiterated that UNRWA’s work in the region is vital to maintaining a fragile balance and ensuring basic services are available to displaced populations.
For the Palestinians who rely on UNRWA, the impact of this legislation could be devastating. The agency manages 11 food distribution centers in Gaza, supporting approximately 1 million people, more than half of whom live in extreme poverty. In the West Bank, UNRWA oversees health services in 19 refugee camps, provides prenatal care, emergency cash grants, and maintains educational facilities for tens of thousands of students. Without UNRWA, these services could disappear, as Israel has no plans to replace or assume responsibility for them.
In light of the intense international criticism, the Israeli government appears firm in its decision, maintaining that severing ties with UNRWA is a matter of national security. Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein (Likud) declared that Israel “has the right and duty, as any sovereign nation committed to its survival, to combat threats against it.” Knesset Member Dan Illouz, also from Likud, said, “The call for the closure of UNWRA is a call for justice and for maintaining our security and our shared democratic values.”
