Curbing UNRWA’s activity in Israel

KNESSET.  October 7, 2024

Two bills aimed at curbing UNRWA’s activity in Israel approved for second and third readings

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chair MK Edelstein: “UNRWA problem did not begin on October 7”

The Israel Knesset Parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, chaired by MK Yuli Yoel Edelstein (Likud), voted to approve for second and third readings two bills that are aimed at curbing the activity in Israel of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

The first bill, sponsored by MKs Boaz Bismuth (Likud) and merged with a bill introduced by Sharren Haskel (New Hope – The United Right), proposes to prohibit UNRWA from operating within Israel’s sovereign territory, so that it will not operate any mission, will not provide any service and will not conduct any activity, either directly or indirectly, in the sovereign territory of the State of Israel.

The second bill is a merger of three bills that were submitted by MKs Ron Katz (Yesh Atid), Dan Illouz (Likud), Yulia Malinovsky (Yisrael Beitenu) and a group of MKs. The bill states that the invitation for UNRWA, based on correspondence exchanged between Israel and the agency dating back to June 14, 1967, concerning Israel’s facilitation of UNRWA’s operations, will expire on October 7, 2024, or upon final approval of the bill in the Knesset Plenum. The bill further stipulates that no Israeli government agencies or representatives may have any contact with UNWRA or a representative of the agency, and that Israel’s National Security Council must report to the committee every two months regarding the bill’s implementation.

Both bills were approved by the committee unanimously, and they will enter into force 90 days after their final approval in the Knesset Plenum. During the debates on the bill, some of which were classified, the committee heard from social organizations, researchers and representatives of bereaved families whose loved ones were either held captive in Gaza by UNRWA members, or were murdered with the assistance of UNRWA members.

During the classified deliberations, the possible legal, diplomatic, economic and security-related implications of the bills were discussed at length with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Defense Ministry, the Finance Ministry, the National Security Council and security agencies. In addition, the committee’s legal team, led by Adv. Miri Frenkel Shor, held numerous meetings with various professionals to ensure that the bills would provide a response to the wide array of issues that were raised in the deliberations.

Committee Chair MK Edelstein said, “The UNRWA problem did not begin on October 7; it merely came to the surface and was revealed in all of its evilness (on that day). For many years now, Members of Knesset from all ends of the political spectrum have raised the issue and have advanced bill related to the matter. We all witnessed UNRWA’s activity on October 7; there was no concern there for ‘relief and employment.’ We know that some of the hostages were held by workers of the organization.

“This is a complex issue with widespread implications, and for that reason, in the last few weeks the committee staff and myself, together with Members of Knesset, have worked very intensively with various parties in order to reach significant and operative drafts of the laws. A short while ago, the UNRWA laws passed in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and they will come up for second and third readings in the Knesset Plenum. UNRWA is out!”