The Tactics Institute for Security and Counter-Terrorism strongly condemns the Israeli Parliament’s decision to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This move could have devastating outcomes for millions of Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. 

The law approved by the Israeli parliament is an outright onslaught on the rights of Palestinian refugees. It is developed to make it impossible for the agency to work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory by pushing the closure of the UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem and terminating visas for its staff. It led to the criminalization of humanitarian assistance and will exacerbate an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

UNRWA has been playing a critical role for Palestinian refugees in the occupied Gaza Strip the West Bank and neighbouring nations throughout the 75 years since its establishment. UNRWA has played an indispensable function in offering, food, water, medical support, education and protection to the almost 2 million Palestinians in Gaza who have been forcibly expelled, subjected to engineered starvation, and stand at grave risk of genocide as a result of Israel’s persistent offensive in the last 12 months. 

The difficulty of the Palestinian people would be even more painful if not for UNRWA’s tireless labour over the last three-quarters of a century. This awful, inhumane law will only worsen the suffering of Palestinians, who have survived unimaginable trouble and whose need for global backing is greater than ever. 

The Tactics Institute urges United Nations, the European Union, and allied countries, to condemn this measure. We call on Israel to review this law. It damages the vital work UNRWA has carried out for decades to ameliorate the suffering of the world’s most vulnerable populations.