Israeli Allies Call for Continued Support for UNRWA

The foreign ministers of Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the UK released a joint statement on Sunday expressing "grave concern" over a piece of legislation currently being debated in the Knesset meant to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from operating in Israel or working with Israeli officials.

“UNRWA provides essential and life-saving humanitarian aid and basic services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, East Jerusalem, the West Bank and throughout the region,” the statement said. “Without its work, the provision of such assistance and services, including education, health care, and fuel distribution in Gaza and the West Bank would be severely hampered if not impossible, with devastating consequences on an already critical and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, particularly in northern Gaza.”

The statement went on to say that the FM's of these allied countries “urge the Israeli Government to abide by its international obligations, keep the reserve privileges and immunities of UNRWA untouched and live up to its responsibility to facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms as well as the provision of sorely needed basic services to the civilian population.”

The statement comes despite Israel having documented several cases of UNRWA employees also being members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and directly participating in the October 7th massacres and other terrorist attacks against Israelis. Additionally, there have been complaints for years that the textbooks UNRWA uses in its schools incite hatred of Israel and glorify terror.

The statement by the allied FM's made a reference to these facts, saying that they believe UNRWA “has taken steps to address allegations regarding individual employees’ support for terrorist organizations and demonstrated its willingness to pursue and implement reform of internal processes.”

They also demanded that UNRWA demonstrate its commitment to neutrality and otherwise fulfill it's stated mandate, adding a commitment of their own to monitor it to make sure it does so.