"The Knesset is set to hold a preliminary vote designating the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as a terrorist organization, by which it will then sever all ties with the body that is the main relief service provider for 5.9 Palestinian refugees in the Middle East.
‘The purpose of this bill is to declare UNRWA as a terrorist organization for all intents and purposes as well as order the termination of the relations [and the cooperation] of the State of Israel with the agency, either directly or indirectly,’ Israel Beytenu MK Yulia Malinovksy wrote in the introduction to the bill, which she authored.
The legislative push comes as the International Court of Justice and the international community at large have taken Israel to task for not sufficiently ensuring the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza...
Israel has charged that some 12 UNRWA staff members were involved in the kidnapping of Israelis during the October 7 Hamas-led invasion into Israel in which over 1,200 people were killed and another 252 seized as hostages.
It has further alleged that some 190 UNRWA employees have ties to Hamas. In addition, the IDF found instances where Hamas weapons were stored in UNRWA facilities in Gaza.
Malinovksy, whose party is in the opposition, wrote in her explanation of the bill that ‘at least 12 UNRWA employees were connected to the terrorist attack’ on October 7 and ‘took part in acts of murder [and] kidnapping, including the abduction of bodies, and [gave] orders on behalf of the terrorist organization Hamas.
‘About 10% of UNRWA’s staff in the Gaza Strip are connected to terrorist organizations. It was also announced that two teachers from the organization kept Israeli hostages in their home, 130 teachers praised the massacre in public, and 3,000 teachers, on behalf of the organization, glorified the massacre in the Telegram group in response,’ she wrote..."