It has been 15 months of hell in the Gaza Strip. A ceasefire, fragile and desperately needed, is now in place. The crucial priority right now is getting aid to a population that is traumatised, starving and at increased risk of disease and famine.
A key term of the ceasefire was increased humanitarian access. On October 28th, the Israeli parliament voted overwhelmingly to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) from operating in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory of East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank. This legislation is set to come into effect on Thursday.
It is an absurdity to think that we could see the main provider of humanitarian aid banned, not even three weeks into the ceasefire. It would not only undermine the ceasefire and sabotage the provision of desperately needed humanitarian aid, it would be an act of bad faith by Israel so huge it defies belief.
Unrwa, as the key humanitarian actor in Gaza, has a vital role to play in getting urgent supplies in, and supporting the rebuilding effort and the hundreds of thousands who will have to restart their lives from scratch.
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Since October 2023, it has delivered two-thirds of all food assistance to Gaza, provided shelter to almost one million displaced people and vaccinated one quarter of a million against polio. It has also been instrumental in delivering aid supplies to Gaza since the ceasefire took effect earlier this month.
Humanitarian organisations like ActionAid and our partners are working rapidly to respond to the huge level of need now that we have more access. However, the aid system cannot function without Unrwa in Gaza. It co-ordinates logistics, safety, fuel provision and movement. Without Unrwa, water desalination plants and aid transportation would collapse, leaving people in further crisis. There is no viable replacement.
Before the war, Gaza’s residents were already living under extraordinary pressure due to the ongoing blockade, recurrent conflict and systemic poverty.
The impact would be too huge to bear. Unrwa provides education to 300,000 children in Gaza and runs 22 health centres. Cutting off these services would leave countless families without necessities like food, medical care and access to education.
This is an attack on humanitarian relief, with repercussions that will devastate Palestinian lives and set a dangerous precedent for humanitarian organisations around the world
Health centres run by Unrwa often serve as the first and only point of care for many families. This ban would dismantle an essential safety net at a time when Gaza’s healthcare system has been destroyed by bombing.
Unrwa has a long history, serving as a vital lifeline for millions of Palestinians since it was established in 1949 to provide education, healthcare, and basic humanitarian services to Palestinian refugees who fled or were expelled from their homes during the first Arab-Israeli war.
[ ‘If Unrwa goes down, the whole aid structure goes down’Opens in new window ]
Born and raised in the West Bank, I am proud to have worked with Unrwa earlier in my career. I know from firsthand experience how it goes beyond practical support. Unrwa represents hopes and collective identity and memory for Palestinian refugees.
Of any relief organisation operating in Palestine, Unrwa has faced the most high-profile and sustained attacks from Israel and its allies since the start of the bombardment of Gaza on October 7th, 2023. In response to Israeli claims of involvement in October 7th, Unrwa swiftly enacted a comprehensive and independent review. This report found that no evidence was provided by Israel to substantiate this claim.
It would be a mistake to see this as a bureaucratic attack on one aid body. This comes in the context of the weaponisation of aid by Israel and its major ally, the United States. This is an attack on humanitarian relief, with repercussions that will devastate Palestinian lives and set a dangerous precedent for humanitarian organisations around the world.
Palestinians have experienced a second Nakba. Just as in 1948, since October 2023 Palestinians have been killed, displaced, deprived of education and healthcare, and systematically impoverished. The ban on Unrwa is part of this. The goal is not only to destroy Unrwa and its humanitarian services, but to end the Palestinian refugee issue and extinguish a beacon of hope for our people.
If the international community allows this disregard for international law to continue, the dangerous precedent it sets will worsen.
The ban breaches Article 105 of the UN Charter, and UN Security Council resolution 2730 of May 2024 on the protection of humanitarian and UN personnel. It also defies the International Court of Justice’s rulings on the unlawfulness of Israel’s presence in Gaza and the West Bank, including eastern Jerusalem, and a second ruling on the need for Israel to allow for unhindered aid into Gaza.
The agency employs thousands of Palestinians, providing a rare source of income in an area with rising rates of unemployment. Banning Unrwa will also impede reconstruction and relief efforts in Gaza and hinder the agency’s work in East Jerusalem, which Israel illegally annexed and considers to be Israeli sovereign territory.
The international community and Ireland must not allow this to happen. Rather than dismantling Unrwa, the international community should demand a strengthening of its operations to maximise its effectiveness and what will be an enormous effort to rebuild Gaza.
Israel must be held to account and respect for international law reclaimed. Ireland can lead the way with this by taking what is a small step and quickly enacting the Occupied Territories Bill, and not a watered-down version.
Banning Unrwa would be a devastating blow to a population that needs hope and support now more than ever. It would sabotage the ceasefire, erode trust in the international community and sound a death knell for Palestinians.
Riham Jafari is Communication & Advocacy Coordinator for ActionAid Palestine
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