Former Israeli diplomat Alon Liel has said that the Israeli government hasn’t provided any alternative to UNRWA’s aid distribution efforts after its parliament voted to ban the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, Al Jazeera reports.

“I think the vote in the Israeli Knesset is a historic mistake. It shows that our parliament is traumatised and the Jewish people are still traumatised by the effects of October 7 last year,” Liel told Al Jazeera.

The Israeli public “knows very little about what UNRWA really does”, he added, noting that the Knesset vote is a breach of the UN charter that authorised the agency’s work.

“I know during the Blinken visit here in his meeting with Netanyahu the main issue they discussed was how will the humanitarian aid reach the population in Gaza. There is no one to come in and fill the gap, so this is tragic,” he said.