Israel has officially notified the United Nations that it was cancelling the agreement that regulated its relations with the UN relief organization for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) since 1967, the Israeli foreign ministry said on Monday.
Israel's parliament last week passed legislation banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and stopping Israeli authorities from cooperating with the organization, which has said the ban will deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza.
Since the start of the Gaza war, Israel has said that UNRWA has been infiltrated by the Palestinian armed group Hamas in Gaza, accusing some of its staff of taking part in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.
Following an investigation by the UN oversight office, the United Nations said in August that nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the Oct. 7 attack, and had been fired. Later, a Hamas commander in Lebanon - killed last month in an Israeli strike - was found to have had an UNRWA job.
Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon said in a statement that despite the overwhelming evidence "we submitted to the UN highlighting how Hamas infiltrated UNRWA, the UN did nothing to address this reality".
The legislation, which does not take effect for another three months, has prompted international concern, with the UN Security Council warning against attempts to dismantle UNRWA.
UNRWA director of communications Juliette Touma said the Israeli law had so far had no impact on UNRWA assistance in Gaza and the West Bank including East Jerusalem. She said the onus was on UN member states to find a way to get Israel not to implement the law, calling it "a race against time".
The law does not directly outlaw UNRWA's operations in the West Bank and Gaza, both considered by international law to be outside the state of Israel but under Israeli occupation. But it will severely impact its ability to work in those areas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for UNRWA to be shut down, saying it seeks to perpetuate the issue of Palestinian refugees.
The agency was established in 1949 following the war surrounding the founding of Israel, when 700,000 Palestinians fled or were driven from their homes.
It provides aid, health and education to 5.9 million descendants of those refugees in Gaza, the West Bank and in neighboring Arab countries.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz ordered his ministry to notify the United Nations of the cancellation of the agreement, the foreign ministry said.
Katz said the UN "was presented with countless pieces of evidence that Hamas operatives are employed by UNRWA and about the use of UNRWA facilities for terrorist purposes yet nothing was done about this".
Asked for comment, Touma said that in addition to the UN oversight office's investigation, UNRWA received one formal accusation directly from Israeli authorities, alleging 100 of its staff were members of Palestinian armed groups.
UNRWA sought information and cooperation from Israel about the allegations and had not received a response, she said.
The Israeli military had also made accusations in the media alleging the use of UNRWA facilities by armed groups. UNRWA had repeatedly condemned the alleged use of its facilities by groups including Hamas and other parties to the conflict and called for accountability, she said.
