CONFLICT
Israel votes to ban UN Palestinian refugee agency
October 29, 2024 - Israel’s parliament has passed two laws that could prevent the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, a main provider of aid to Gaza, from being able to continue its work.
The laws ban the agency, UNRWA, from operating and cut all ties between the agency and the Israeli government. It’s the culmination of a long-running campaign against the agency, which Israel contends has been infiltrated by Hamas. But supporters say Israel’s real aim is to sideline the issue of Palestinian refugees.
The agency is the major distributor of aid in Gaza and provides education, health and other basic services to millions of Palestinian refugees across the region, including in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, according to AP.