Israel’s Ban on UNRWA Over Terrorism Ties Takes Effect

Washington Post
Israeli ban on UNRWA takes effect, imperiling aid to Palestinians

An Israeli law banning the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from operating in Israeli territory took effect Thursday, ushering in a new and uncertain era for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who rely on the organization for basic services in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. A twin law also forbids contact between Israeli officials and UNRWA staff, a prohibition that could severely hinder the agency’s ability to move goods and people around the occupied Palestinian territories, where generations of refugees and their descendants rely on the aid.

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Washington Post
AP NEWS
Israel’s ban on UN’s Palestinian aid agency has come into effect. Here’s what that looks like

Israel on Thursday formally banned the main United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees from operating on its territory despite heavy diplomatic backlash, a move that humanitarian officials warn could have a disastrous impact on aid delivery and jeopardize regional stability in the long term. The order against the agency, known as UNRWA, went into effect at midnight on Thursday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said. But hours later, there was no change on the ground except in the most cosmetic sense — right-wing activists clambered up the high stone walls of UNRWA’s headquarters compound in east Jerusalem, yanked down the blue-and-white U.N. flag, hoisting up Israel’s blue-and-white instead.

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Fox News
Israel orders UNRWA to cease operations in country over terror ties: 'miserably failed in its mandate'

The Israeli government has ordered the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to cease its operations in the country, effective today, Jan. 30, 2025. This decision follows years of mounting accusations against the agency, including claims of involvement with the terrorist group Hamas. The move marks the culmination of a long-standing effort by Israel to distance itself from the organization, which it accuses of undermining its national security. The Israeli legislation, passed in October 2024, explicitly bans UNRWA from operating within Israel’s sovereign territory. The law also prohibits any communication or collaboration between Israeli officials and UNRWA representatives. Under the new rules, all UNRWA facilities in Jerusalem, including those in Maalot Dafna and Kafr Aqab, must be evacuated. The legislation also addresses accusations that UNRWA has allowed Hamas to infiltrate its ranks.

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Controversy Erupts as Israel Bans UNRWA Operations
Israel has banned UNRWA, the main UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, from operating in its territory. The move, enacted despite diplomatic backlash, risks destabilizing the region and creates confusion on the ground. The agency serves millions across Gaza, the West Bank, and beyond.
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Israel orders UNRWA to cease operations in country over terror ties: 'miserably failed in its mandate'
The Israeli government has ordered the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to cease its operations in the country. This decision follows years of mounting accusations against the agency, including claims of involvement with the terrorist group Hamas. The Israeli legislation, passed in October 2024, explicitly bans UNRWA from operating within Israel’s sovereign territory.
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'Tainted by Terror': Israel Bans UNRWA From Operating in Its Territory
Israel will ban UNRWA from operating in Israeli territory. The agency's members participated in Hamas's October 7 massacre. The ban will take effect within 48 hours. The U.S. backed Israel's decision at Tuesday's U.N. Security Council briefing, with a chargé d'affaires saying it is a step toward giving Gazans a "brighter future"
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‘We rely on God, then on UNRWA’: Palestinians fear drastic effects as Israeli ban on UN agency comes into force
Israel's ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) came into effect on Thursday. Iman Helles fears that she will now be "thrown out to the streets" with her three children. “If the agency is banned… we won’t eat or drink,” she says.
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Israel enforces laws banning UNRWA - UPI.com
The law that bans the United Nations agency that aids Palestinian refugees in Gaza went into effect on Wednesday.
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Israel’s ban on UNRWA comes into effect despite backlash
Israel has repeatedly accused UNRWA employees of involvement in the October 7 attack without providing proof. The law, which was passed in October, bans UNRwa from operating on Israeli land, including in occupied East Jerusalem. Contact with Israeli authorities is forbidden. For more than 70 years, UNR WA has provided support for Palestinian refugees across the Middle East.
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What Israel’s UNRWA Ban Could Mean for Palestinians
Legislation that goes into effect on Thursday bars UNRWA from operating in the country. That will affect aid delivery to Gaza and beyond. The agency provides shelter, food and water to millions of Palestinians not only in the enclave, but also in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and several surrounding countries.
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Israeli authorities raid multiple UNRWA facilities in Jerusalem
Israel has said that UNRWA, the U.N. aid agency for Palestinians, has been so thoroughly penetrated by Hamas and other terrorist groups that it is essentially itself a terrorist enterprise. City inspectors accompanied by police entered several facilities on Tuesday in eastern Jerusalem of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
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Israel refuses to withdraw its forces fully from southern Lebanon as extended ceasefire deadline passes
The ceasefire came into effect on November 27th last. It required the Lebanese military to deploy across southern Lebanon. Hizbullah to withdraw to north of the Litani river, about 30km from the Israeli border in most areas, and the IDF to withdraw from Lebanon. Israel has accused Hiz Bullah of failing to adhere to this.
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LIVE BLOG: Phase II 'Has Not Started Yet' | Israel Destroys Village in West Bank - Day 501
Israel intensified attacks in the occupied West Bank, demolishing a village near Hebron and storming a school in Jerusalem.
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Report: UNRWA illegally operational in Jerusalem
The Knesset passed two laws banning UNRWA on Oct. 28. The laws were passed following the exposure of UNRwa staff complicity in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 massacre. The organization's two headquarters in Jerusalem have also closed down. But schools and other UNR WA facilities in eastern Jerusalem and beyond remain open.
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UNRWA Alleges Israel Police Began Shutting Down East Jerusalem Schools
UNRWA says Israeli police tried to enter its schools in East Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Municipality and the Israeli Ministry of Education denied the claim. The move comes three weeks after the Knesset approved a ban on UNRWA's activities in Israel. The ban prohibits any contact between the agency and schools in the country.
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