Israel on Thursday formally banned the main United Nations aid agency for Palestinian refugees from operating on its territory despite heavy diplomatic backlash, a move that humanitarian officials warn could have a disastrous impact on aid delivery and jeopardize regional stability in the long term. FRANCE 24's Sharon Gaffney speaks to Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch about what this means for the Palestinian population.
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NewsTranscript
00:00This is Apropos.
00:04The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees says its clinics remain open across the occupied
00:10West Bank and that its work continues in Gaza despite being ordered to cease operations
00:15by Israel.
00:16The ban passed by the Israeli parliament last October came into effect at midnight despite
00:21a heavy diplomatic backlash.
00:24Helping aid 2.5 million Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, UNRWA has been the main
00:30lifeline for a population reliant on humanitarian aid.
00:34Nick Rushworth has the latest.
00:38Israel has cut ties with UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees,
00:44accusing it of providing cover for Hamas militants.
00:48The agency from this Thursday is banned from operating on Israeli soil.
00:53Contact between it and Israeli officials is forbidden.
00:56A spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry said on social media,
01:00Humanitarian aid doesn't equal UNRWA and UNRWA doesn't equal humanitarian aid.
01:06UNRWA equals an organization infested with Hamas terror activity.
01:10This is why beginning on January 30, and in accordance with Israeli law, Israel will have
01:15no contact with UNRWA.
01:18The decision comes into effect following a ban passed in the Knesset last October,
01:23and a decision by Israel's Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject a petition from a rights
01:27group contesting the move.
01:31The UN says its aid agency will continue to work in all Palestinian territories.
01:36An UNRWA official speaking before the ban came into effect warned of the devastating
01:41impact it could have.
01:44We're responsible for over half of deliveries inside the Gaza Strip, over half of the aid
01:49coming in.
01:50You know, UNRWA has been described repeatedly, not by ourselves, but by others, as the backbone
01:58of the international aid operation.
02:00Without UNRWA being able to operate, there's a very real risk of the humanitarian operation
02:06collapsing.
02:07After the Hamas-led attack on Israel on the 7th of October 2023, Israeli officials accused
02:13around a dozen of the agency's 13,000 staff in Gaza of taking part.
02:18A series of investigations found some neutrality-related issues, but stressed Israel had not provided
02:23evidence for its headline allegation.
02:27To discuss, we're joined now by Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights
02:32Watch.
02:33Omar, thanks so much for being with us on the programme.
02:36The UN agency was aware that this ban was coming, it formally took effect at midnight.
02:42What impact is it having on the ground, if any yet, and is aid still being delivered?
02:48So the immediate implications have largely been focused on occupied East Jerusalem.
02:54UNRWA has a headquarters there.
02:55They also have health clinics and other offices that provide essential services to Palestinians.
03:02Israeli authorities have told UNRWA to vacate those premises and are likely facing an imminent
03:08situation, which action will be taken to block access to Palestinians.
03:13There are thousands, tens of thousands of registered Palestinian refugees in occupied
03:17East Jerusalem.
03:18Also, UNRWA provides services in areas that are on the other side, the West Bank side
03:22of the separation barrier, that are frequented by Palestinians in refugee camps in the West
03:26Bank.
03:28So that obviously has already been affected.
03:30And this hangs over the entire organisation, which there are millions of Palestinian refugees
03:36across the region in the West Bank and Gaza that rely on UNRWA services, including in
03:40Gaza, as you noted in your programme, where humanitarian aid is coming.
03:45And we don't know yet exactly how the Israeli authorities will act.
03:48Will they allow that aid to continue?
03:50Will they allow UNRWA staff to be able to work from Gaza, the staff that requires passports
03:56and visas?
03:57These are questions that are not yet clear in the hours since this law has come into
04:00effect.
04:01But, you know, it's very clear the Israeli government seeks to dismantle UNRWA, and that
04:05could have dramatic implications, already some of which we're seeing, but more that
04:09could be coming in the days ahead.
04:11And Omar, as well, it's coming at a sensitive time, just weeks into the ceasefire in Gaza.
04:16Where does this leave all those people who are reliant on humanitarian assistance?
04:22We saw in that report as well, apart from the humanitarian aspect, many of these people
04:27view the agency as a symbol of their identity.
04:30It goes as far as that.
04:31Absolutely.
04:32I mean, it's very clear the Israeli government here.
04:34Their campaign is much larger, and it started way before October 7th.
04:38This is about liquidating the status and the legitimate rights of Palestinian refugees.
04:42I mean, look, Palestinian refugees would today give up their status as refugees if they were
04:47given their recognized right to return to their homes that they were expelled from in
04:511948.
04:52That's why UNRWA were created.
04:54But obviously that's not the current reality, where they're able to return given the Israeli
04:59government's intransigence.
05:00And so UNRWA is there to provide basic services in the meantime.
05:04And you're right.
05:05I mean, in Gaza, UNRWA has been essential for health, for education, far before October
05:117th.
05:12So for Palestinians, it's not only about aid.
05:14And even since the ceasefire has come into effect, UNRWA has been providing trucks of
05:18aid into northern Gaza, a population that has faced months of the Israeli government
05:24using starvation as a weapon of war, deliberately depriving Palestinians of water, of food,
05:31electricity, of basic services.
05:32And UNRWA has been one of the, you know, the agency best positioned to serve them.
05:37So to answer your question, you know, UNRWA is essential, not just given the dire humanitarian
05:43situation we face right now, but much more broadly as providing services.
05:48And it's entrenched in the foundation of the international refugee law that UNRWA exists.
05:54And when they don't exist, other UN agencies are also there in other areas to provide services.
05:59So I think it's really essential, particularly given the current situation in Gaza, that
06:04the international community make clear to Israel that it will not allow Israel to kill
06:08off UNRWA and to strip Palestinian refugees of their rights and status under the law.
06:14And NGOs are also warning this could have an impact on regional stability.
06:17Would you agree?
06:18I mean, absolutely.
06:19I mean, look, we're looking at a reality in the West Bank, in Gaza, right, where you have
06:25Gaza, the majority of the population are refugees who rely on UNRWA services.
06:29I mean, who's going to fill the gap in providing education and providing health services?
06:34I mean, right now in Gaza, obviously, the entire population has been deprived of those
06:38things.
06:39You know, but in the West Bank, in Jordan, in Syria, in Lebanon, UNRWA provides those
06:43services.
06:44And if UNRWA doesn't exist, you create a vacuum because you have millions, in some cases hundreds
06:49of thousands, tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees.
06:53By the way, by generation.
06:54I mean, you know, they've been refugees in many cases for decades who are not going to
06:58have any infrastructure to receive support for those services.
07:02So certainly beyond just, you know, putting Palestinian lives at risk, education, health,
07:07other basic rights, it certainly could have wider destabilizing effects, particularly
07:11in the context in the West Bank where we're seeing the Israeli government, as we speak,
07:16carrying out attacks in Jenin refugee camp and elsewhere in the West Bank and where refugees
07:21in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, in many cases are facing very difficult economic and other
07:25situations.
07:26And Omar, you asked the question yourself, but who will fill the gap?
07:29There are reports as well that American contractors, for example, are being hired to run checkpoints
07:34in Gaza.
07:35Look, I mean, the humanitarian community has been crystal clear, you know, that UNRWA is
07:40essential and that they need to operate.
07:42There is no other agency that can fill the gap.
07:45So I think the focus of the international community right now must be to make clear
07:49to the Israeli government that it will not allow it to dismantle UNRWA, that UNRWA is
07:54essential in providing these services, and that they continue to put pressure on the
07:58Israeli government to allow it to operate.
08:00Obviously, there are other UN agencies, there are other institutions that provide critical
08:05services.
08:06They should be supported as well.
08:07But there simply is no real credible alternative to UNRWA, and the world needs to make that
08:11clear to the Israeli government.
08:12Ultimately, this isn't just about the well-being of Palestinians.
08:15The Israeli government itself, it's obligated as the occupying power to provide these services
08:20to the occupied population.
08:21It's not doing so.
08:22So ultimately, if UNRWA is not doing so, the obligation comes back to Israel to ensure
08:27that their rights and their needs are accounted for.
08:31And obviously, they have a very long direct record of not just not doing that, but of
08:36fundamentally undermining the rights of Palestinians and repressing them.
08:39And Omar, as we say, we've known that this ban is coming since October.
08:43Some have criticized UNRWA's leadership for its handling of all of this, saying that there's
08:47been no clear path in terms of handling what's actually happening.
08:53Is that something that you would agree with, or what would your view be there?
08:56Not at all.
08:57I mean, you know, UNRWA is established by virtue of international law.
09:03It's set out in UN resolutions, it has a mandate, it is an essential agency.
09:08It's not going to let any government, you know, simply kill off an organ of the UN.
09:13I mean, what kind of precedent would that set?
09:15So I think they have been rallying states to, you know, to fill the gap, to put pressure
09:20on there, and as they should be doing, because ultimately, you know, no country should have
09:25the veto power to just simply erase and undo an international institution, international
09:30law.
09:31And so I think that's really misplaced here.
09:33No agency is going to fold because a repressive government tells it it can't service the communities
09:39it has the legal obligation to serve.
09:40That's ridiculous here.
09:42The ultimate fault here lies with the Israeli government for its unlawful campaign to deprive
09:49Palestinians of aid, of resources, and a part of that strategy, of course, is attempting
09:55to undermine, and even more, dismantle UNRWA.
09:58And in terms of precedent, as you mentioned there, what are the wider implications when
10:02a UN member state bans a UN agency?
10:05Well, I think that's, you're hitting the nail on the head.
10:08I mean, this affects protection of civilians and refugees worldwide.
10:11I mean, you have, these institutions provide services far beyond the occupied Palestinian
10:15territory.
10:16I mean, obviously UNRWA has a unique mandate, but there are sister organizations that service
10:20other refugee communities.
10:22There are UN bodies that provide food aid, you know, health services, really basic things.
10:27And, you know, if the Israeli government is allowed, and that's precisely why the International
10:32Court of Justice was asked by the UN General Assembly to issue an opinion about, you know,
10:37the implications of this decision, because they really could affect crisis response,
10:43civilian protection, refugee protection, and areas of armed conflict around the world.
10:47So even if states may not, you know, particularly, you know, put a focus on the situation in
10:53the occupied Palestinian territory, they should care and push back here because of
10:57the precedent it could set in the way in which it could undermine the UN, international organizations
11:01more broadly from working in situations of armed conflict around the world.
11:06And Omar, Israel, of course, claims that the agency is deeply infiltrated by Hamas.
11:10Is there any evidence at all to back this up?
11:12Look, I think the Israeli government's claims have been pretty well, you know, debunked,
11:17you know, over time.
11:18All along, we're talking about just a small handful, you know, of individuals and organizations
11:22that employs tens of thousands, you know, of people.
11:25And there have been, you know, reporting that has shown that, you know, that not only have
11:29these claims been overstated, but the UN has itself investigated, it has actually fired
11:33employees for which they found credible evidence, you know, of wrongdoing.
11:37But you know, to basically hold an entire, not just agency, but a Palestinian refugee
11:42community that had nothing to do with the allegations against a small number of employees,
11:47that's akin to collective punishment.
11:49You know, that is, you know, jeopardizing the rights, the needs of hundreds of thousands,
11:54millions of people because of potential wrongdoing of, you know, a handful of people, which again,
12:02the UN took seriously from the beginning and dismissed those for which there were accusations
12:06against them.
12:07So I think, you know, this has really been clear.
12:09It's been transparent all along.
12:10It's never been about these allegations.
12:12This is about a longstanding Israeli government campaign to liquidate the rights of Palestinian
12:17refugees.
12:18And simply, they failed.
12:19The world, you know, is not going to simply erase decades of law and precedent, you know,
12:25because an abusive government doesn't like it.
12:28Omar, we have to leave it there.
12:29But thank you so much for joining us.
12:31That's Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch.
12:35Well, that's it from us for now.
12:37Do stay with us, though.
12:38We'll be back shortly.