UNSC to address crisis at UNRWA ahead of Israeli ban

Danon stressed that months of talks with the United Nations to address the situation have been met with ‘blatant disregard.’

By Joshua Marks, JNS

The United Nations Security Council is set to convene on Tuesday to address the escalating crisis at the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which Israel has outlawed citing allegations that Hamas terrorists were employed by the agency.

Algeria, which assumed the Security Council presidency in January, requested the meeting. This will be the second Council session this month dedicated to UNRWA’s situation.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini and Norwegian Refugee Council Secretary-General Jan Egeland are expected to brief the assembly during the session.

Israel notified the United Nations on Saturday that it must evacuate all UNRWA premises in Jerusalem no later than Jan. 30, as Knesset legislation banning the agency’s operations within the Jewish state will take effect on Thursday.

“Israel expects that UNRWA [will] take all the necessary steps to cease its operations in Jerusalem and evacuate all premises in which it operates in the city within the stated time frame,” wrote Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon in a letter addressed to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.

Outlawing UNRWA in Israel “came as a direct response to the acute national security risks posed by the widespread infiltration of UNRWA’s ranks by Hamas and other terrorist organizations, and the agency’s persistent refusal to address the very grave and material concerns raised by Israel, and to remedy this intolerable situation,” the letter notes.

Danon stressed that months of talks with the United Nations to address the situation have been met with “blatant disregard.”

On Nov. 4, the Israeli parliament terminated the 1967 agreement outlining the terms of its relations with UNRWA.

The director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry sent a letter to U.N. General Assembly President Philémon Yang of Cameroon explaining that Jerusalem “withdraws its request issued to UNRWA,” and instead “will continue to work with international partners, including other United Nations agencies, to ensure the facilitation of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not undermine Israel’s security.”

Then-Foreign Minister Israel Katz said, “UNRWA, whose employees took part in the Oct. 7 massacre and many of whose workers are Hamas operatives, is part of the problem in the Gaza Strip, not part of the solution.”

The United Nations was “provided with countless pieces of evidence regarding Hamas operatives who work at UNRWA and about the use of UNRWA facilities for terrorism, and nothing was done,” he added.

Lazzarini has warned that the Israeli actions against UNRWA would worsen humanitarian conditions, disrupt the social system and erode Palestinian trust in the international community.

Lazzarini also cautioned that banning UNRWA could undermine the fragile ceasefire established on Jan. 19 after more than 15 months of war.

He emphasized UNRWA’s essential role, noting it has already provided food aid to over one million people in Gaza during the ceasefire, and stressed the need for the agency’s continued operations to prevent further humanitarian collapse.