Israel’s decision to ban the UN Palestinian aid agency from operating in Gaza will have “serious consequences” and will be a “catastrophe for humanitarian aid”, ministers said yesterday.
Government figures joined a chorus of international condemnation after Israeli politicians voted to prevent the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from carrying out “any activities” inside East Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank.
Ministers here vowed to continue pressing their Israeli counterparts to make a U-turn, while Labor MPs called for sanctions and restrictions on arms exports.
The Israeli legislation, which also considered UNRWA a terrorist group, was drafted after allegations that personnel were involved in the Hamas attacks on October 7 last year.
A UN investigation insisted that nine employees of the agency, which has 13,000 employees, “may have been” involved in the terrorist attack.
Palestinians queue at a UNRWA clinic in Deir-al-Balah to receive medicine and medical treatment
A baby receiving treatment at the UN agency’s center. UK government figures have joined international condemnation of Israel after the Knesset voted to ban UNRWA from operating in Gaza.
Palestinian children in a UNRWA school. A UN investigation insisted that nine employees of the agency, which employs 13,000 people, “may have been” involved in the attack on October 7 last year.
Labor resumed funding for UNRWA in July after the previous government suspended it in January.
He said the organization had acted on the recommendations of former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna following her investigation into violations of UNRWA neutrality, and remained the best vehicle to deliver vital aid to Gazans. .
Last night, the Prime Minister said the “gravely worrying” vote in the Israeli Knesset “risks jeopardizing the international humanitarian response in Gaza.”
Earlier, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the move was a “catastrophe for humanitarian aid” in Gaza, while Foreign Secretary David Lammy hinted on Monday that it could be grounds for imposing sanctions on Israel.
Responding to an urgent question in Parliament yesterday, Foreign Office Minister Anneliese Dodds told MPs: “There will be serious consequences if the work of UNRWA is obstructed.”
But both Labor and Conservative stalwarts questioned whether ministers were using all available options to force Israel to act.
Labor MP Clive Betts said: “If Israeli ministers decide to implement this, are they not effectively engaging in an act of war by starvation?”
Palestinians outside a UN clinic in Deir al-Balah. UK ministers warned that the move to block the agency risked “jeopardizing the international humanitarian response in Gaza”.
Two doctors dispensing medicines at the UNRWA centre. Labor and Conservative stalwarts questioned whether ministers were using all available options to force Israel to act.
A UNRWA physiotherapist helps a Palestinian at the Japanese health center in Khan Yunis, Gaza
Former Conservative leader Simon Hoare said: “Isn’t this bordering on the definition of collective punishment?”
The Prime Minister’s official deputy spokesman said last night: “We have been very clear that Israel must ensure that UNRWA can deliver aid at the speed and scale necessary to address a humanitarian emergency in Gaza.”
Shadow foreign affairs spokesperson Harriet Baldwin told MPs that UNRWA must “rebuild the trust that was lost following the deeply worrying allegations”.
Ms Dodds responded: “We hope that robust processes continue to meet the highest standards of neutrality.”
A UNRWA spokesman said: “The Israeli parliament’s vote… violates Israel’s obligations under international law.”