Yesterday, the Israeli Knesset passed two laws that ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) – the primary provider of assistance to Palestinians. The bills prohibit UNRWA from operating or providing services in any territory controlled by Israel and ban any communication between the Israeli government and UNRWA.
UNRWA serves almost six million Palestinian refugees in the occupied Palestinian territory, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. These bills will effectively destroy much of the remaining aid infrastructure in Gaza and disrupt medical systems, education, aid distribution, and more for over 870,000 UNRWA registered refugees in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Efforts to eliminate UNRWA are illegal under international law and will only amplify the genocide and ethnic cleansing Israel is enacting in Gaza while also undermining long term prospects for peace. The Israeli government is not only deliberately blocking humanitarian and medical aid to people who are starving and dying, it is undermining support for Palestine refugees and the international legal framework protecting their rights.
We are calling on the international community to take immediate action to stop these attacks on UNRWA from moving forward, and we are calling on the U.S. to institute an immediate arms embargo on Israel.
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The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.