Israel’s parliament, or Knesset, passed a law Monday banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from operating in the country and restricting its operations in the West Bank and in Gaza.
UNRWA was established by the United Nations to care for the needs of refugees from the war launched by Arab states against Israel in 1948. It caters to millions of Palestinians, but also incubates extreme anti-Israel ideology.
UNRWA staffers have been directly involved in terror attacks against Israel, including the October 7 attack. One recent case involved a UNRWA employee who was responsible for the mass murder of Israeli civilians hiding in a bomb shelter.
The Jerusalem Post reported:
“UNRWA long ago ceased to be a humanitarian aid agency, but in addition to it being an integral supporter of terror and hate, is an agency to eternalize poverty and suffering. The rationale is simple – in order to survive, UNRWA created demand for the product it provides. The circle of horror ended today, they are out!” [Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein] concluded.
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The first bill states that UNRWA will no longer “operate any institution, provide any service, or conduct any activity, whether directly or indirectly,” in Israel.
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The second bill states that the treaty between Israel and UNRWA, signed following the Six Day War in 1967, will expire within seven days of the bill passing its final voting in the Knesset plenum; that no Israeli government agencies or representatives may contact UNRWA or a representative of it, beginning three months after the bill passes; that criminal proceedings into UNRWA employees’ involvement in acts of terror will continue; and that Israel’s National Security Council must report to the committee every six months regarding the bill’s implementation.
The Times of Israel noted that the Biden-Harris administration opposed the legislation and urged Israel not to implement it. The administration earlier threatened an arms embargo if Israel did not work with UNRWA in Gaza.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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