Claims that Israel is preparing to ban UNRWA's activities in Gaza and the West Bank

According to The New York Times, two bills approved by the Israeli Knesset in October to ban UNRWA's activities in Israel are expected to come into effect this month. Israeli lawmakers are reportedly working on necessary legal arrangements to ban UNRWA's aid activities, which they see as a tool to support Hamas. UN officials warn that if Israel enforces the law, no aid organization can take on the role of UNRWA, which provides essential assistance such as food, water, medicine, education, and shelter to millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Former managers of UN humanitarian operations in the West Bank and Gaza, like Jamie McGoldrick, emphasize that implementing these bills will cause great hardships for Palestinians living in difficult conditions. 30-year-old Palestinian Sami Abu Darweesh, living in a refugee camp set up by UNRWA in Gaza, highlights the importance of UNRWA's role in the region, saying 'The whole world has abandoned us. We have nothing else to survive other than the assistance we receive from UNRWA. If that is also cut off, what will we do?' It is not yet clear how Israel will address UNRWA's activities in Gaza or the West Bank, whether they will completely ban the activities. The Israeli government began a smear campaign against UNRWA simultaneously with the attacks on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, claiming that the agency should be shut down because 14 of its staff members participated in the attacks. Tel Aviv continues its campaign to close and discredit the agency, which supports Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, Lebanon, and Jordan, employing 30,000 mostly Palestinian workers in health, education, and social services. The Israeli Knesset passed a bill on October 29 to end UNRWA's activities in Israel. While many countries condemned Israel's decision, the US administration called on the Israeli government on October 30 to stop the implementation of the law that would terminate UNWRA's activities. Since the Israeli army launched attacks on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, it has killed 258 UNRWA personnel.