Israel voted to ban the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) from operating in Israel, which will mean that the organization will not be able to send much-needed aid to civilians in Gaza.
In May, the Israeli government proposed legislation that would label UNRWA as a terrorist organization. This is a familiar tactic used by the Israeli government. They also recently labeled members of the press as terrorists in advance of a weekend in which at least five journalists were killed.
How do we know whether the victims are terrorists or not?
This is a familiar tactic used during the Obama administration when civilians who were killed were categorized as combatants as long as they were military-age males.
The head of UNRWA, Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini, said this about this vote:
“These bills will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in #Gaza where people have been going through more than a year of sheer hell. It will deprive over 650,000 girls & boys there from education, putting at risk an entire generation of children. These bills increase the suffering of the Palestinians & are nothing less than collective punishment. Putting an end to UNRWA & its services will not strip the Palestinians from their refugee status. That status is protected by another UN General Assembly resolution until a fair and lasting solution is found to the plight of the Palestinians. Failing to push back these bills will weaken our common multilateral mechanism established after World War 2. This should be a concern to all.”
