By Israel’s ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees went into effect Thursday in a move that the world body has warned will jeopardize humanitarian aid efforts in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.
The move comes as 2 million Palestinians living in those areas are grappling with the destruction wrought during the 15 months of the Gaza war and its timing — coming at an especially vulnerable moment for the Palestinian territories — has alarmed the international community.
The Palestinian Authority, which governs the West Bank, believes the ban will further stoke tensions between Palestinians and Israelis in the occupied West Bank and in Gaza, where a fragile ceasefire remains in place.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors, which saw the country seize the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt. Since then, it has built and expanded Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Most countries deem them illegal under international law, a position disputed by Israel which sees the territory as a security bulwark.
Israel, which claims that Hamas members have infiltrated UNRWA, argues that the agency’s absence will depoliticize humanitarian aid, make delivery more efficient and help keep it out of Hamas’ hands.
UNRWA Director-General Philippe Lazzarini has warned of “disastrous” consequences if Israel bans the aid organization from the Palestinian territories.
The ban comes into effect less than two weeks after a Gaza ceasefire deal allowed for a surge in humanitarian aid into the enclave with the expected weekly entry of 4,200 trucks of aid.
Because they claim that UNRWA has exaggerated the proportion of Gaza’s aid it provides, Israeli officials say that other aid bodies, other UN agencies and municipal departments will step in to fill the gap left by UNRWA.
