JERUSALEM – Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, advanced the first reading of a trilogy of bills Monday aimed at shuttering the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East amid evidence the organization is increasingly indivisible from the Gaza Strip’s rulers, Hamas.

Approved in first reading: UNRWA to be declared by the State of Israel as a terrorist organization; all relations between UNRWA and the state to be severedhttps://t.co/EsI1vsT2JH pic.twitter.com/1S0nsyp2Vn

— The Knesset (@KnessetENG) July 22, 2024

The first bill, which would cease the organization’s ability to operate on Israeli territory, passed 58-9. The bill proposed to prohibit UNRWA from operating any mission, providing any service or conducting any activity within Israel’s sovereign territory.

Meanwhile the second, aimed at stripping UNRWA personnel of the legal immunities and privileges afforded to United Nations staff in Israel, was approved 63-9.

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MK Yulia Malinovsky (Yisrael Beiteinu) and other MKs sponsored the final bill, which proposed cutting off the state of Israel’s relations with UNRWA and declaring it a terrorist organization. The bill passed with a 50-10 majority and all the bills will now be returned to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for further deliberation.

Approved in first reading: UNRWA to be declared by the State of Israel as a terrorist organization; all relations between UNRWA and the state to be severed.

As they should be.

— The Mossad: Satirical, Yet Awesome (@TheMossadIL) July 23, 2024

Likud MK Boaz Bismuth, a former editor of the Israel Hayom newspaper who was one of those sponsoring the first bill, was categorical in his condemnation of UNRWA and its activities.

“UNRWA employees worked hand in hand with Hamas in the cruel massacre that took place on that ‘Black Sabbath.’ UNRWA terrorists murdered, raped and kidnapped Israelis, and assisted in the conveyance of the murder weapons. UNRWA was established in 1949 to provide a solution to the problem of Palestinian refugees, but all it has done since [its inception] is perpetuate the refugee [status of Palestinians], rather than rehabilitate the refugee. It has used the vast resources placed at its disposal for terrorist activity against Israel,” according to a Knesset statement.

Bismuth also posted on X, “This [proposed] law sends a very clear message to our enemies: ‘We will not permit international organizations to continue in their industry of terrorism and incitement'”

אני נרגש לבשר שהחוק שיזמתי לסגירת אונר”א עבר כעת בקריאה ראשונה!
עם קצת מאמץ, נוכל עוד לפני סוף המושב לסגור את ארגון הטרור הזה.

החוק מעביר מסר חד וברור לאויבנו: לא נאפשר לארגונים בינ”ל להמשיך בתעשיית הטרור וההסתה. מי שסייע לחמאס, יענש. אין מקום לאויבים בלב ליבה של בירת העם… pic.twitter.com/4V9eS1hoxW

— Boaz Bismuth (@BismuthBoaz) July 22, 2024

Sharren Haskel MK of New Hope-The United Right party explained the need to find a “parallel” organization and not rely on UNRWA.

“When I realized UNRWA was actually a cornerstone of the Arab conflict here in the Land of Israel, I already understood a change was needed. UNRWA perpetuates the refugee status and passes it on as inheritance. Why? Because it is a very lucrative business.”

Mansour Abbas, leader of one of Israel’s Arab parties, Ra’am, and who was part of the Lapid-Bennett government between June 2021 and December 2022, opposed the motions. He said designating UNRWA a terrorist organization was “absurd.” He argued that although some of its members may have participated in terrorism – it is widely understood at least 12 took part in the Hamas’ initial Oct. 7 onslaught – the vast majority work to provide aid for the people who need it. He further pointed out in its absence, Israel would likely be required to assume its operations – which the government has consistently stated it would not do.

The explanatory notes to the bill state: “In the months after the outbreak of the Swords of Iron war, investigative reports were revealed regarding the involvement of the workers of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip in the murderous terrorist offensive that began on October 7, 2023, such as participation in acts of murder and massacre, kidnapping Israeli citizens to the Gaza Strip and providing vehicles and equipment for the purpose of the offensive. Reports were also published regarding the membership of these workers in the Hamas and Islamic Jihad organizations.”

Indeed, the instances of IDF troops operating in Gaza finding weapons caches hidden inside UNRWA facilities – including schools and hospitals – are legion. To say nothing of the Hamas data center found under UNRWA’s Gaza HQ in February, including electricity cables connecting it to the UNRWA network.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant estimated some 12% of UNRWA’s 13,000 employees in Gaza are affiliated with Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), including nearly 1,500 who are thought to be active in one or other of those two terrorist groups. More than 230 of those are assessed to be active members of the military wings of either Hamas or PIJ.

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