New Israeli legislation against UN refugee agency ‘outrageous’: UNRWA chief

TEHRAN (Iran News) “Yesterday’s vote by the Israeli parliament passing new legislation against UNRWA is outrageous,” Lazzarini wrote on his official X account on Tuesday, calling the move “a direct affront to the mandate granted to the Agency by the UN General Assembly and contrary to findings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which oblige Israel to fulfil its responsibilities as a UN member.”

He warned that the law grants the Israeli authority “to expropriate UN properties in East Jerusalem, including UNRWA’s headquarters and its main vocational training center,” in clear violation of the Israel’s obligations under international law.

Stating that the new legislation is a further blow to the multilateral system, the UNRWA chief called it “part of an ongoing, and systematic campaign to discredit the refugee agency and obstruct the core role it plays in providing human-development assistance and services to Palestine refugees.”

The Israeli parliament approved the bill in the second and third readings on Monday, in a move to pile up pressure on UNRWA at the time when the Palestinians’ need for UN services has increased more than ever after two years of Israeli genocidal war.

The regime banned UNRWA from operating in the occupied Palestinian territories in October 2024, over unfounded claims that some of its employees had participated in Al-Aqsa Storm, a Hamas operation that Israel made a pretext to launch a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip with the support of the United States.

The ban continued despite UNRWA’s denial of Israeli claims, and the UN affirmation of the organization’s commitment to neutrality.

Meanwhile, Jordan slammed the new Israeli legislation against UNRWA, calling it an attempt by the occupiers to violate the rights of Palestinian refugees.

In a statement, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said that the Knesset’s approval of a law targeting the structure and functioning of UNRWA and weakening its ability to provide services is a clear violation of the immunity of UN-affiliated institutions and discredit of international law.