António Guterres: Banning UNRWA will cause catastrophe

Shafaq News/ The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, warned, on Tuesday, that Israel's prevention of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from entering the Gaza Strip would "trigger a disaster."

Guterres stated that he had written to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alerting him that an Israeli bill aimed at barring UNRWA from operating in the occupied Palestinian territories would be a "catastrophe."

He added, "Such a measure would stifle efforts to alleviate human suffering and tension in Gaza, and indeed across the entire occupied Palestinian territories. It would be a disaster in what is already a complete catastrophe."

In July, the Israeli Knesset conducted the first reading of a bill that classifies UNRWA as a "terrorist organization".

Introduced by Avigdor Lieberman's party, Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home), the bill garnered support from 42 Knesset members with opposition from six.

The proposed "Counter-Terrorism Law" would apply to UNRWA, calling for the cessation of all communications and relations between Israel and its citizens with UNRWA, and the closure of the agency's offices in Israel. "The bill would also subject the UN agency to sanctions under laws targeting terrorist organizations," according to RT Arabic.

Israel alleged that UNRWA employees participated in "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation on October 7, 2023. Following these claims, several countries initially cut their funding to UNRWA but later resumed support.

An independent review of UNRWA's performance concluded that there is "no alternative" to the agency's role in Palestinian humanitarian and economic development.

The review emphasized that Israel provided no evidence linking UNRWA staff to Hamas or other Gaza resistance factions.

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed the report, claiming it lacked a "real and comprehensive examination."

The review was led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, commissioned by the United Nations, and involving three research institutes.

It confirmed that UNRWA regularly provided Israel with lists of its staff for verification purposes, while Israel did not inform UNRWA of any concerns regarding its employees.