The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) must cease its operations in Jerusalem and vacate all the buildings it uses by 30 January, the Israeli ambassador to the UN wrote in a letter to the Secretary-General on Friday.
‘In accordance with applicable Israeli law (...), Unrwa must cease its operations in Jerusalem and evacuate all the buildings it uses in the city by 30 January at the latest’, said Danny Danon.
He is referring in this letter to the Israeli parliament's vote in October on a law banning the agency's activities in Israel after 90 days, including in East Jerusalem, the sector of the Holy City annexed by Israel, where Unrwa has schools and health centres.
Israel accuses the agency of being infiltrated by members of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and claims that some of its employees took part in the attacks of 7 October 2023.
These ‘developments are a direct response to the serious security risks posed by the infiltration of Unrwa by Hamas and other terrorist organisations and the Agency's refusal to address the serious and material concerns raised by Israel and to remedy the situation’, Danny Danon stressed in his letter.
He believes that Unrwa has ‘irreparably compromised its fundamental obligation of impartiality and neutrality’.
The letter makes no mention of a second law passed in October by the Israeli parliament, which will prohibit Israeli officials from working with Unrwa and its employees from the same date, raising fears for the future of the agency's activities in Gaza and the West Bank.
A few days ago, Unrwa boss Philippe Lazzarini had assured us that when the law came into force, ‘the agency's intention is to stay and do its work’ in the Palestinian territories.
‘But in fact, if you don't have a bureaucratic or administrative relationship, it makes your operational environment even more complicated’, he noted.
Israel believes that Unrwa's activities should be handled by other UN agencies. But the UN repeats that it is ‘irreplaceable’, particularly in its mission to provide basic services to the Palestinians, such as medical care and education.
In a letter dated 8 January, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres stressed that in the event of a forced halt to Unrwa's activities in the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, Israel, as the ‘occupying power’, must ensure that the services provided by Unrwa continue to exist.
With AFP.
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