JERUSALEM: The Israeli parliament gave preliminary approval on Monday to a bill that declares the main United Nations relief organisation for Palestinians a “terrorist organisation” and proposes to sever relations with the body.

The vote against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) is the latest step in an Israeli push against the agency, which Israeli leaders have accused of collaborating with Hamas in Gaza.

The bill was approved in a first reading and will be returned to the foreign affairs and defence committee for further deliberation, the Knesset information service said.

The bill’s sponsor, Yulia Malinovsky, was quoted as describing UNRWA as a “fifth column within Israel”.

Shelling kills 70 Palestinians in Khan Yunis; PM Shehbaz says Tel Aviv pursuing ‘genocidal agenda’

The agency provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It has long had tense relations with Israel, but relations have deteriorated sharply since October and Israel has called repeatedly for UNRWA to be disbanded.

“It’s another attempt in a wider campaign to dismantle the agency,” UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma said. “Such steps are unheard of in the history of the United Nations.”

Israel has alleged hundreds of UNRWA staff are members of “terrorist groups”, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but has yet to provide evidence to a UN-appointed review.

Several donor countries halted funding to UNRWA following the Israeli accusations, but many have since reversed the decision, including Britain which said last week it would resume funding.

Both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority condemned the Israeli vote, and Hussein Al Sheikh, an ally of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas, called on the international community to resist attempts to dissolve the agency.

70 Palestinians killed

Seventy Palestinians were killed and more than 200 wounded by Israeli fire on the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, the health ministry said on Monday.

It said some of the wounded were in a “dangerous condition”.

Thousands of Gazans fled an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone on Monday after the army ordered them to leave and warned of an imminent operation in response to rocket attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on his way to Washington to deliver a crucial speech at what he said was a time of “great political uncertainty”, following US President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek re-election.

Netanyahu will meet Biden, who has pushed him to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas, more than nine months into the Gaza war.

Fighting raged in Gaza as the Israeli military ordered Palestinians to evacuate part of a humanitarian zone, just two months after directing them there for their own safety.

The military said it issued the order to leave the eastern Khan Yunis sector of the Al Mawasi humanitarian zone as it was “about to forcefully operate” to curb rocket fire.

Facing yet another displacement, Palestinians filled the dusty streets of Khan Yunis with cars, motorbikes, donkey-drawn carts, and on foot, carrying what belongings they could.

Shehbaz condemns Israel

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has condemned Israel for its attack on Khan Yunis and for ordering Palestinian refugees to evacuate a humanitarian zone, describing it as a mockery of humanity.

In a statement issued by the PM Office, the prime minister said it had become clear that Israeli forces were pursuing a genocidal agenda against Palestinians, noting that unarmed people had been denied an opportunity to evacuate.

Calling upon the United Nations to fulfil its responsibility in addressing the issue of Palestine, Shehbaz Sharif emphasised that the Pakistani nation stands in solidarity with its Palestinian brothers and sisters.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2024