In a vote of 92-10 on two related bills, the Knesset overwhelmingly voted to bar UNRWA activities in Israel on Monday, which includes the areas of Judea and Samaria and Gaza.
UNRWA, which helps maintain the “refugee” problem in perpetuity, has become overrun and taken over by Hamas terrorists. Some 100 UNRWA employees directly participated in the October 7th massacre and held Israeli citizens hostage or were Hamas members. UNRWA teachers teach incitement against Israel.
אונר”א היא כבר מזמן אינה סוכנות סיוע הומניטרי, אלא מעבר להיותה חלק בלתי נפרד מעידוד טרור ושנאה, היא סוכנות להנצחת עוני וסבל. ההיגיון פשוט – כדי לשרוד, אונר”א עצמה יוצרת ביקוש למוצר שהיא מספקת.
מעגל האימים הזה נגמר היום, They are out!
— Yuli Edelstein ?? יולי אדלשטיין (@YuliEdelstein) October 28, 2024
The first bill states that UNWRA won’t be able to operate or provide any services in Israel, whether directly or indirectly. The second bill forbids Israeli government agencies and representatives from meeting with UNRWA officials starting three months from now; that criminal proceedings against UNRWA employees will continue; and that Israel’s National Security Council must provide updates every six months on the implementation of the bill.
“There is no legal barrier for banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and in the Gaza Strip,” Yifa Segal, an expert in international law and the founder of the International Legal Forum NGO, told The Press Service of Israel.
“The exchange of notes between Israel and UNRWA from 1967 explicitly states that Israel voluntarily agreed to help UNRWA to operate from its territory, and that ‘a provisional agreement between UNRWA and the Government of Israel is to remain in force until replaced or canceled.’” Segal said. “The time has come to cancel it.”
The international community has been pressing Israel not to blacklist UNRWA, claiming there is no alternative in Gaza providing assistance to the local population.
More than 100 survivors of Hamas’s October 7 attacks filed a $1 billion lawsuit against UNRWA in June, accusing the agency of “aiding and abetting” the terror group. According to the suit, the lead plaintiff, 84-year-old Ditza Heiman of Kibbutz Nir Oz, was held captive for seven weeks in the home of a Gazan man who said he was a UNRWA teacher at a boy’s school.
Israel’s largest bank froze UNRWA’s account in February over suspicious financial transfers that the agency failed to adequately explain. That same month, Israeli forces discovered a Hamas complex located directly under the UNRWA’s Gaza City headquarters and connected directly to the agency’s electricity system. The facility included numerous computer servers belonging to the terror group.
UNRWA was also ordered to vacate its Jerusalem offices in May over lease violations.
The Regavim movement released the following statement:
A moment that will go down in history: The Knesset casts off the shackles of “the conception,” and votes to ban UNRWA from Israel.
After too many long, dark years, UNRWA’s reign of terrorism, incitement and murder have come to an end. The State of Israel has chosen, despite massive international pressure and bald-faced threats, to take a decisive stand on the side of truth and justice. Tonight, the Knesset made history, casting aside failed paradigms and false narratives.
The Regavim Movement congratulates the Members of Knesset who proposed the important legislation that passed into law this evening, banning UNRWA from Israel, prohibiting UNRWA from operating in Jerusalem and forbidding Israeli cooperation with UNRWA. We congratulate each of the 92 MKs who rose above partisan politics to pass this historic legislation, and we are gratified and encouraged by this impressive act of solidarity. In this same spirit we must stand together resolutely to protect and promote Israel’s vital interests and work together to restore the Zionist vision to its central place in Israel’s public policy.
Content by Anna Epshtein/TPS was used in this report.
