UNITED NATIONS: The UN agency for Palestinian refugees must end operations and leave all its premises in Jerusalem by Jan 30, Israel’s UN ambassador said on Friday, affirming timelines set out in controversial Israeli legislation.

Defying international concern, Israeli lawmakers have passed legislation that bars the agency, UNRWA, from operating in Israel and east Jerusalem, the sector of the city annexed by Israel following the 1967 Six Day War.

The agency has faced criticism from Israel that has escalated since the start of the conflict, including claims that several of its 13,000 Gaza employees were involved in the deadly Oct 7, 2023 raid by Hamas. In a letter addressed to United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, Ambassador Danny Danon said “UNRWA is required to cease its operations in Jerusalem, and evacuate all premises in which it operates in the city, no later than 30 Jan 2025.” UNRWA is considered the backbone of humanitarian operations for Palestinians.

It provides aid to some six million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. While east Jerusalem has long been an administrative hub for the agency, it also runs schools and health clinics in the sector.

Israel has also passed a law that prohibits contact between Israeli officials and UNRWA, but its parliament has not technically banned the agency from operating in Gaza or the West Bank.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini warned that preventing the agency from operating “might sabotage the Gaza ceasefire, failing once again hopes of people who have gone through unspeakable suffering.”

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2025