UN Chief Antonio Guterres reminds Israel of legal obligations amid potential terror designation for UN aid agency

29 October 2024, 06:27 | Updated: 29 October 2024, 06:37

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has reminded Israel of its obligation to international law in the wake of the nation passing two laws that could see the UN's aid agency listed as a terror sect.

Israeli lawmakers passed two laws on Monday that could threaten the work of the main UN agency providing aid to people in Gaza by barring it from operating on Israeli soil, severing ties with it and labelling it a terror organisation.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said UNRWA would be prevented from doing UN-mandated work if the laws are implemented.

"There is no alternative to UNRWA," he said in a statement.

He then called on Israel "to act consistently with its obligations" under both UN Charter and international law, as well as the privileges and immunities of the United Nations.

"National legislation cannot alter those obligations," Mr Guterres added.

Israel's parliament approved a second piece of legislation on Monday to cut ties with the main UN provider of aid to Gaza and to designate it a terror organisation, threatening the agency as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza mounts.

The bill prohibits ties between Israeli officials and UN Agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA.

It also strips UNRWA staff of their legal immunities.

It followed an earlier bill passed and banned all activity of UNRWA on Israeli soil.

The legislation, which would not take effect immediately, risks collapsing the already fragile aid distribution process at a moment when the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening and Israel is under increased US pressure to ramp up aid.

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The first vote passed 92-10 and followed a fiery debate between supporters of the law and its opponents, mostly members of Arab parliamentary parties. The second law was approved 87-9.

The two bills signal a new low in relations between Israel and UNRWA, which Israel accuses of maintaining close ties with Hamas militants.

The changes are also a serious blow to the agency and to Palestinians in Gaza who have become reliant upon it for aid throughout more than a year of war.

The Bills risk severely affecting the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

More than 1.9 million Palestinians are displaced from their homes and Gaza faces widespread shortages of food, water and medicine.

International aid groups and a handful of Israel's western allies, including the US, have voiced strong opposition.

US state department spokesman Matthew Miller, speaking to reporters in Washington, said the administration was "deeply concerned" by the legislation.

"There's nobody that can replace them right now in the middle of the crisis," he said.

UNRWA provides education, health care and other basic services to millions of Palestinian refugees across the region, including in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Bills would come into effect 60 to 90 days after Israel's foreign ministry notifies the UN, according to the spokesman for politician Dan Illouz, one of the co-sponsors of one of the Bills.

"UNRWA is the largest humanitarian organisation in Gaza. Who can do its job?" said Juliette Touma, communications director for the agency.

But Boaz Bismuth, who co-sponsored one of the Bills, said: "The law that we passed now is not just another Bill. It is a call for justice and a wake-up call.

"UNRWA is not an aid agency for refugees. It is an aid agency for Hamas."

The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said the new laws were part of an "ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA".

"These Bills will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza," he said on the social platform X, formerly Twitter.

An English language account on X for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was ready to work with international partners to ensure it "continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza".

The post did not say how, and it was not clear how the flow of aid would be affected once these Bills take effect.