Israel is telling the United Nations that the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees must end its operations in Jerusalem by Jan. 30.
In a letter sent Friday to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon again accused the agency known as UNRWA of “widespread infiltration” by Hamas militants who carried out the surprise Oct. 7, 2023 attack in southern Israel -- which UNRWA denies.
Danon said he was following up on legislation passed in late October by Israel’s Knesset banning UNRWA from operating in the “sovereign territory of Israel” and banning any contact between Israeli authorities and the UN agency. It was to take effect in 90 days.
In light of the legislation, he said, “UNRWA is required to cease its operations in Jerusalem, and evacuate all premises in which it operates in the city, no later than 30 January 2025.”
Danon said UNRWA had received notices from the Israeli Land Authority on Jan. 14, 2024 and May 28, 2024, indicating that its use of two properties in Jerusalem was done without proper authorization and demanding their evacuation. “These notices were bluntly disregarded by UNRWA, while shielding behind its immunity,” he said.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a speech in Oslo last week that for Israel, its sovereign territory refers to “occupied East Jerusalem.”
Its staff there “will be compelled to withdraw under protest,” and “local staff will remain and continue to provide emergency assistance and, where possible, education and primary healthcare.”
He said UNRWA will also “stay and deliver” in Gaza and the West Bank, which are occupied Palestinian territories and were not mentioned in Danon’s letter.
UNRWA has been the main agency procuring and distributing aid in the Gaza Strip, where almost the entire population of around 2 million Palestinians relies on the agency for healthcare and education.
