Israel has knocked yet another nail in the United Nations system.
This week, with an extraordinary result of 92 to 10 (the 10 being presumably the Arab members), the Knesset passed two bills. One, banning UNRWA from operating in East Jerusalem and in the occupied areas in Gaza and the West Bank under Israeli control. The second, banning Israeli officials from having any interaction with UNRWA officials or employees, all the while referring to this critical UN body as a “terrorist” organisation.
“It’s outrageous that a member state of the United Nations is working to dismantle a UN agency which also happens to be the largest responder in the humanitarian operation in Gaza,” Juliette Touma UNRWA Communications Director said in a media statement on Tuesday.
By way of context it is worth repeating the following outrageous and seriously offending statements and list of abuses hurled against the United Nations by the Israeli Prime Minister and other Ministers this past year alone.
Israel’s Prime Minister, while standing on stage at the UN general assembly, denounced the body as “contemptible”, a “house of darkness” and a “swamp of antisemitic bile”.
Israel’s outgoing ambassador to the UN shredded a copy of the UN charter with a miniature paper shredder while also standing at the podium of the general assembly, and later said the UN headquarters in New York “should be closed and wiped off the face of the earth”.
Israel’s foreign minister falsely accused the UN secretary general of not having condemned Iran’s attacks on Israel, declared him “persona non grata in Israel” and announced that he had “banned him from entering the country”.
If this Israeli law is fully implemented, within the apparent 90 day period, it will effectively starve and condemn to death the 2.3 million people of Gaza who rely on UNRWA for life sustaining food, clothing, water, medicines and other humanitarian assistance. It will also deprive them of access to health services that provide additional life saving health measures such as........