Further criminal behaviour by Israel and the US – Mark
Israel, backed by Washington, will cease contact with the UN’s Palestinian humanitarian relief agency UNRWA and any body acting on its behalf, its UN envoy said Tuesday, drawing condemnation from aid groups.
Signaling a shift in the US position on the agency by the administration of President Donald Trump, a US envoy voiced support for the decision and called for a probe into Israeli claims UNRWA sites were used by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
UNRWA’s offices and staff in Israel play a major role in the provision of healthcare and education to Palestinians, including those living in Gaza, devastated by 15 months of war with Israel.
Fighting destroyed hospitals and sparked outbreaks of infectious disease, while hundreds of thousands of Gazans faced starvation conditions and have depended on food aid.
The organization says it has brought in 60 percent of the food to have reached Gaza since the start of the war, which was ignited by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel.
But it has long clashed with Israeli officials, who have repeatedly accused it of undermining the country’s security.
“The legislation concerning UNRWA activities in Israel will officially come into force in 48 hours on January 30… UNRWA must cease its operations and evacuate all premises it operates in Jerusalem,” the Israeli envoy, Danny Danon, told the UN Security Council.
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