Israel says UN Palestinian agency must leave Jerusalem by 30 January

AFP , Saturday 25 Jan 2025

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees must end operations and leave all its premises in Jerusalem by January 30, Israel's UN ambassador said Friday, affirming timelines set out in controversial Israeli legislation.

UNRWA
UNRWA was ordered to vacate its offices in Jerusalem. AFP

 

Defying international concern, Israeli lawmakers have passed legislation that bars the agency, UNRWA, from operating in Israel and east Jerusalem. Israel, without evidence, has claimed that a dozen of its 13,000 Gaza-based employees were involved in the Hamas offensive on 7 October 2023.

In a letter addressed to United Nations chief Antonio Guterres, Ambassador Danny Danon said "UNRWA is required to cease its operations in Jerusalem, and evacuate all premises in which it operates in the city, no later than 30 January 2025."

UNRWA is considered the backbone of humanitarian operations for Palestinians.

It provides aid to some six million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

While east Jerusalem has long been an administrative hub for the agency, it also runs schools and health clinics in the sector.

Israel has also passed a law that prohibits contact between Israeli officials and UNRWA, but its parliament has not technically banned the agency from operating in Gaza or the West Bank.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini warned that preventing the agency from operating "might sabotage the Gaza ceasefire, failing once again hopes of people who have gone through unspeakable suffering."

"The work of UNRWA must continue in Gaza + across the occupied Palestinian territory," he said on social media platform X late Friday.
 


*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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