Jan. 30 (UPI) — The law that bans the United Nations agency that aids Palestinian refugees in Gaza went into effect on Thursday.
The new laws, which were passed in October, prevent UNRWA from operating in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the organization’s spokesperson Jonathan Fowler, said in a statement.
Fowler said the UNRWA distributed humanitarian aid and assistance for nearly 6 million Palestinians. Because of the laws, UNRWA’s international staff, originally located in East Jerusalem, has been relocated to Amman, Jordan.
The ban will affect 30,000 UNRWA workers who served Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
UNRWA said Israeli courts did not turn back the laws, almost guaranteeing them to be implemented.
The international community condemned the decision to ban UNRWA last October when the laws were originally passed. It was not clear what organization would step in the place of UNRWA, formally known as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees and Near East.
Yuli Edelstein, chair of Israeli Knesset foreign affairs and defense committee said the bills were needed to secure the country.
Israel accused a small number of UNRWA workers of being involved in the deadly Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 which killed 1,200 and took more than 200 hostages. UNRWA fired nine workers after finding evidence that they may have been connected with the attack.