Israel’s UNRWA ban is the next step in a long-standing effort to delegitimize the agency

Israel’s parliament overwhelmingly voted to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, defying warnings from allies and human rights organizations, and exacerbating concerns about desperately needed humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

The Knesset on Monday passed a law that bans all UNRWA activities and services in the country, and another that severs ties between the Palestinian refugee agency and Israeli officials. The UNRWA ban is set to take effect in 90 days. Israel said it will “work with our international partners to ensure Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel’s security.”

Israel has long sought to discredit the UNRWA, even prior to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, which killed 1,200 people. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in 2018 that the agency’s existence and its operations “perpetuate the Palestinian refugee problem” and “the right of return narrative,” which critics say undermine country’s ethnonationalist character. Others have argued that it’s not appropriate to call third-generation Palestinians “refugees,” despite generations of internally displaced families living in what are considered refugee camps, and that the U.N.’s humanitarian efforts should be handled by a different branch. Israel has also accused the UNRWA of radicalizing students against Israel, which the agency has pushed back on.

Earlier this year, Israel claimed without evidence that more than a thousand UNRWA employees were part of militant groups in Gaza, prompting several countries to halt much-needed funding to the agency. An independent review commissioned by the U.N. subsequently found the agency has a “significant number of mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with the humanitarian principles,” more than other U.N. bodies or nongovernmental organizations. The review also determined that most “alleged neutrality breaches” among employees were related to social media posts, “particularly following incidents of violence affecting colleagues or relatives.”

In August, an investigation by the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services into Israel’s accusations found no basis for some and a lack of sufficient evidence for others, though it said it identified nine employees who may have been involved in the Oct. 7 attacks. Israel Defense Forces have pointed to tunnels it says it located in February underneath UNRWA headquarters as evidence that the agency is “perforated” by Hamas. The agency said that the claims “merit an independent inquiry” but that it had “no knowledge” of what was under its headquarters, which it vacated shortly after Israel’s assault on Gaza began in October 2023.

The UNRWA is the main source of aid and employment in Gaza and the West Bank, and it provides schools and emergency shelter for people in the occupied territories. UNRWA Commissioner-General Phillippe Lazzarini said in a statement that Israel’s ban on the agency “sets a dangerous precedent” and that the laws will “increase the suffering of the Palestinians” and “are nothing less than collective punishment.”

Even before the Knesset passed the ban Monday, multiple countries — including the U.S., Israel’s biggest ally — warned against it. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller urged Israel not to pass and implement the ban, adding that the U.S. “will consider next steps based on what happens in the days ahead.”

Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard said in a statement that the ban “amounts to the criminalization of humanitarian aid and will worsen an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the ban “intolerable” and said it “contravenes Israel’s obligations and responsibilities, and threatens the lives and health of all those who depend on UNRWA.”

Palestinian authorities in Gaza say that more than 43,000 people have been killed in Israel’s brutal military campaign in the Gaza Strip in the past year. The situation in northern Gaza has grown especially catastrophic in recent weeks as Israel closed its grip on the area, killing hundreds of people and detaining others in sieges on hospitals, residential buildings and schools.