Israel’s parliament has voted to ban the United Nations relief and works agency (Unrwa) from the country within 90 days, in defiance of US and other international pressure to maintain the largest provider of humanitarian assistance to the country’s Palestinian population.
In a 92-10 vote late on Monday, the Knesset banned the agency, which operates in Israel according to a 1967 treaty, from conducting “any activity” or providing any service inside Israel, including the areas of annexed east Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank.
Israeli lawmakers also voted to declare Unrwa a terror group, effectively banning any direct interaction between the UN agency and the Israeli state.
Taken together, the legislation – which will not come into effect immediately – is expected to lead to the closure of Unrwa’s east Jerusalem headquarters and would effectively block the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza via Rafah. The severing of diplomatic relations would preclude Israel from issuing entry and work permits to foreign Unrwa staff and prevent coordination with the Israeli military to permit aid shipments.
More than 1.9 million Palestinians are displaced and the Gaza strip faces widespread shortages of food, water and medicine.
There’s also an ‘Explainer’ article for more background: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/28/what-is-unrwa-and-why-has-israels-parliament-voted-to-ban-it
What the absolute fuck are they thinking?
Did someone spike the Israel water supply with stupid pills or something?
Expelling all Palestinians from any part of Palestine has always been the plan though. No spiking of water necessary.
Yeah, but trying to cut ties with un humanitarian services is going to erode their already shaky position with purported allies. No treaty or alliance can survive everything. At some point, the risk/reward analysis is going to turn against them, and even their allies that rely on them to be a force projection in the region are going to start abandoning them.
Are they thinking that if they keep this shit up that they’ll get attacked full on and their tenuous alliances are going to jump into a world war for them?
It’s such shitty long term thinking. Yeah, maybe they take Palestine fully before they lose backing, but what would they be left with? It wouldn’t gain them anything worth having long term, and could cost them so much if it goes wrong.
I believe their thinking is - they are tired of dealing with the escalation they provoked and aren’t going to get another chance to fully genocide the Palestinians if they don’t strike now. They have nukes and once they can settle the rest of the occupied territory it’ll be a fait accompli - they can de-escalate and re-establish international diplomacy at that point.
I don’t think it’ll work out that way.
is going to erode their already shaky position with purported allies.
As if… their history is full of stuff worse than this and nothing ever happened to them. Whatever chain they have in the ones they command is unbreakable. I think anything sort of nuking Palestine wouldn’t affect them.
They can literally bomb their allies if they don’t do what they want with no consequences. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_David_Hotel_bombing
Well, they’re not purging Palestinians from Palestine so that they come to Israel, if that’s what you’re thinking.
The Israel far right is trying to outdo one another for who is most militant.
It’s way past time that UN bans Israel from their institutions and puts heavy sanctions on them for their genocide and other crimes against humanity.
The United Nations Relief Agency, a terrorist organisation?? Who believes this shit.
Nobody believes it. It’s entirely an effort to provide just enough legal cover for their genocide.
i mean germany found multiple members of unra participating in the oct 7 genocide attempt on israel so yeah? if unra has been infiltrated by hamas members why wouldn’t they?
Those allegations were made back in January, and nearly all donor governments - including Germany’s and our own - ultimately resumed funding for UNRWA:
- https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-resume-cooperation-with-palestinian-unrwa-agency-2024-04-24/
- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-15/australia-to-restore-palestinian-aid-funding-to-unrwa/103592164
- https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/australia-will-resume-funding-to-un-palestinian-aid-agency-heres-how-we-got-here/bpofyz6ba
you mean after
Eventually, a UN investigation found that nine UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the attack on Israel and terminated them
Correct, after that the EU, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Australia, etc. determined that UNRWA was not a terrorist organisation, and resumed their funding.
There was live streaming by UNRWA employees , LIVE STREAMING
I’m assuming you mean live streaming of the attacks on 7 October? Do you have a source for this? I can’t even find anyone claiming this.
As far as I’m aware, the nature of the evidence against UNRWA staff (if there was any) was never made public. If there was live streaming, I think the Israeli government would never stop talking about it.
In any case, there were accusations against 12 UNRWA staff. UNRWA employed 13,000 people within the Gaza Strip, so even if those unproven accusations were true, it would hardly be indicative of UNRWA being a ‘terrorist organisation’.
Drag doesn’t believe the German government on anything. Especially not issues of genocide. They don’t have a good record.
Maybe try commenting somewhere else if you have nothing useful or constructive to say. You don’t believe the german government on anything because of… WWII? I just woke up and am taking a shit but I’m sure this is the dumbest thing I’ll have read today
No, not WWII. The Holocaust. Also Germany’s record of uncritical support for genocide in the middle east.
LIAR.
Germany accepted millions of refugees from Syria to save them from genocide by Putin and Assad.
How convenient for you
Soooo are we still watching Palestinians die doing nothing? Yeah? Is that how the world works? Do we maybe send a formal letter that it’s not very nice? Not even that?
Sinwar had UNRWA ID on him when he was killed.
That’s incorrect. The IDF claims that Sinwar had in his possession the passport of an UNRWA teacher. The passport expired in 2017, and its owner is a 40-year-old man who has been in Egypt since April.
I’m not sure how people imagine this to be some kind of smoking gun for UNRWA being a terrorist organisation. No government donors to UNRWA seem to have considered it worthy of taking any action.
