Palestinian medical officials say an Israeli strike in northern Gaza killed 34 people
Associated PressOct 23
Israeli Knesset Votes to Ban UNRWA
Above: Palestinians wait in line at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) clinic in Deir al-Balah to receive medication and medical treatment on Oct. 29, 2024. Image copyright: Ashraf Amra/ContributorAnadolu via Getty Images
The Facts
Israel's Knesset voted on Monday to ban the UN's primary agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from conducting "any activity" or providing any service inside Israel as well as East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank. The Knesset also designated the UNRWA as a terror group.
The legislation will effectively cut all ties between the UNRWA and the Israeli government. The agency is the main distributor of aid in Gaza and provides education, health, and other basic services to millions of Palestinian refugees across the region.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
The US and international community are deeply troubled by the Knesset's move to ban the UNRWA. Though the agency is surely flawed and employees who have taken part in terrorist activities must be held accountable, the UNRWA is crucial to delivering aid to Gaza. Israel is risking its international support by passing such legislation.
Pro-Israel narrative
In its 75 years of existence, the UNRWA has only perpetuated conflict between Israelis and Palestinians by providing a pretense of never-ending victimhood and suffering. Almost every camp established by the UNRWA has become hotbeds of terrorism, and the agency's only function in recent decades has been to provide Palestinian terror with international legitimacy. Other agencies and organizations will be able to step in and provide aid to those suffering in Gaza.
Pro-Palestine narrative
The UNRWA was created as a bandaid solution in the wake of Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948 to silence Palestinians rightfully enraged by their dispossession. Nonetheless, in the decades since, the agency has served as a reminder to Israel and the international community of Israel's many crimes. Israel's banning of the UNRWA has been in the making for some time, and Israel's goal is to escalate its genocide in Gaza by starving the population of even more much-needed services.