An Obvious Move That Should Have Happened A Long Time Ago

On Tuesday, The Jewish News Syndicate reported that the Israeli Knesset banned the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from operating in Israel. There were several UNRWA workers involved in the October 7th attack, and an UNRWA teacher was found guarding Yahya Sinwar. UNRWA is not an instrument of peace or of any help to the ‘refugees’ or the Israelis.

The article reports:

Israel’s Knesset on Monday made it illegal for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to operate in Israeli territory, and for state officials to cooperate with the agency.

The two laws were passed by a large majority following the exposure of UNRWA staff complicity in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 massacre, and despite pressure from the United States and other countries against the move.

The Biden Administration was “deeply concerned” about the legislation, according to an unnamed U.S. State Department official cited by Axios. This echoes language used by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken prior to the vote.

Josep Borrell, the E.U. High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, tweeted that the new laws “would de facto render UNRWA’s vital operations in Gaza impossible, and seriously hamper its provision of services in the West Bank.” The laws stand “in stark contradiction to international law and the fundamental principle of humanity,” he added.

Has it occurred to these people that UNRWA was acting in contradiction to international law and the fundamental principle of humanity? In the past, I have posted pictures of kindergarten classes in Gaza (here). The children in these classes are in camouflage dress and being taught to be martyrs in the fight against Israel. Many of their teachers are UNRWA workers.

The article concludes:

“The more complicated thing is the prohibition on dealing with UNRWA in Gaza and Judea and Samaria. It is not clear what will happen next, it’s not entirely clear. There will be a few months for the law to go into effect and there will be a lot of pressure on Israel to somehow freeze the law. I don’t think Israel should surrender,” he said.

“The important thing to remember is that Palestinians are prisoners of assistance that keeps them in permanent dependency. UNRWA dooms Palestinians to a cycle of dependency. It calls itself an aid agency but it is a Palestinian war agency. The whole point of UNRWA is to tell Palestinians that their future is to dismantle Israel,” he concluded.

UNRWA has long passed its useful life span (if it was ever useful).