Israel Passes Legislation Curtailing UNRWA’s Operations

Latest Developments

The Israeli government passed two laws on October 28 that curtail the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The legislation bars UNRWA from operating in Israel and prohibits Israeli authorities from maintaining contact with the agency. In effect, the legislation will inhibit UNRWA’s activity in Gaza and the West Bank.

UNRWA was established in 1949 to serve Palestinian refugees displaced during Israel’s War of Independence. UNRWA continues to operate in the Gaza Strip, West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan nearly 75 years later. Since most of the original refugees are dead, UNRWA proffers refugee status to their patrilineal descendants in perpetuity — uniquely departing from the UN’s own requirements for refugees in all other conflicts, thus expanding its mandate indefinitely. The United States has contributed over $1 billion to UNRWA since 2021 despite the agency providing cover for terrorist activity.

In January, the Israeli government shared a dossier with the Biden administration that revealed the participation of 12 UNRWA employees in Hamas’s October 7, 2023, massacre. Israeli intelligence indicated that approximately 450 UNRWA staff in Gaza were terror operatives at the time of the attack. Additionally, UNRWA schools continue to teach a curriculum that denies Israel’s legitimacy, incites antisemitism, and encourages violence and jihad, while Hamas uses these schools to store rockets and launch attacks. Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency asserted this month that “UNRWA is a threat to Israel’s national security.”

Following the passage of the UNRWA legislation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement maintaining that UNRWA “must be held accountable” and that “in the 90 days before this legislation goes into effect — and after — we stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure that Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza in a manner that does not threaten Israel’s security.”

Expert Analysis

“Any claim that an Israeli ban on UNRWA risks a humanitarian crisis in Gaza is absolutely false and refutable. If the goal is enabling another October 7, perhaps there is no alternative to UNRWA. But for food, health, education, housing, economic empowerment, and more, there are turnkey alternatives available that come without UNRWA’s terror baggage.” — Richard Goldberg, FDD Senior Advisor

“UNRWA employees killed, body-snatched, and trafficked Israeli hostages on October 7. UNRWA has been coopted by terrorists and has been working against peace and reconciliation for decades. The United States should be working with Israel to replace this rotten organization and redirect U.S. taxpayer dollars to aid agencies that will provide the much-needed services to Palestinians without UNRWA’s radical agenda.” — Enia Krivine, Senior Director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network

Related Analysis

“Despite Pressure From Washington, Israel Considers Curtailing UNRWA,” by Enia Krivine

“Defying Outside Pressure, Israeli Parliamentarians Vow to Proceed With Legislation Targeting ‘Terrorist Organization’ UNRWA,” FDD Flash Brief

“10 Things to Know About the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA),” FDD Insight