The Israeli Foreign Ministry has condemned efforts by the Israeli parliament to designate the United Nations relief agency UNRWA, the main aid provider to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, as a terrorist organisation.
The Israeli parliament on Monday provisionally approved three bills to close the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and designate it a “terrorist” organisation. The bills need two more readings before they can come into force.
“Israeli systematic efforts to dismantle UNRWA are unacceptable and will result in the denial of Palestinian refugees’ right of return and repatriation to their home countries,” the foreign ministry wrote in English on Wednesday.
The ministry said Indonesia expressed its full support for UNRWA and called on the international community to “resolutely defend UNRWA’s humanitarian work, which provides a vital lifeline to millions of Palestinians.”
Established after the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, UNRWA provides education, health and relief services to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. UNRWA has played a vital role in providing aid during Israel’s ongoing military operation in Gaza, which began last October in response to deadly raids and a hostage crisis by the militant group Hamas.
Also read: Indonesia condemns Israeli bill to designate UNRWA as a terrorist organisation
According to Reuters, the Israeli parliament’s vote on the bill’s first reading on Monday marks the latest step in political pressure on the UN body, which Israeli leaders accuse of working with the Islamist group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
