UPDATE - Arab countries condemn Israeli move to ban UNRWA in Palestinian territories

UPDATES WITH MORE CONDEMNATIONS, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK
By Ahmed Asmar
ISTANBUL (AA) – Arab countries strongly condemned the passing of a law by the Israeli Knesset (parliament) to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), according to separate statements.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said the Israeli move against UNRWA represents "a flagrant violation of international law and the obligations of Israel as an occupying force" in the Palestinian territories.
It added that passing the draft law was part of the Israeli campaign against UNRWA, and stressed that the international community must continue to provide financial and political support to the refugee agency.
Palestinian Presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh rejected the Israeli banning of UNRWA, considering it a "challenge to international legitimacy and UN resolutions."
He added that the Israeli move aims to liquidate the issue of refugees and their right to return and compensation.
Abu Rudeineh stressed that the international community "must treat Israel as a racist state and remove it from international legitimacy."
The Iraqi government called the Israeli ban “a serious development affecting the humanitarian situation and an obstacle to efforts to deliver aid to the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Government spokesman Bassim Al-Awadi called on the international community "to stand for humanity and for each state to fulfill its responsibilities under international humanitarian law, and take serious steps to stop these grave human rights violations."
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry decried the Israeli law to ban UNRWA as “part of a long series of Israeli violations of international law and international humanitarian law that reflects an unacceptable disregard for the international community and the UN.”
It emphasized that the UNRWA’s role “can’t be replaced or dispensed with, and it is high time for the UN Security Council to assume its primary role in maintaining international peace and security.”
Separately, several Palestinian groups, including Hamas, also condemned the Israeli move against UNRWA, calling it an attempt to obliterate the Palestinian refugees cause.
On Monday, the Israeli Knesset passed a law banning UNRWA from operating, which would eventually affect its work in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
The vote saw 92 out of 120 Knesset members in favor of the ban, with 10 opposed.
A separate bill from Knesset members Ron Katz, Yulia Malinovsky, and Dan Illouz, which was approved by lawmakers in a 87-9 vote, mandates that Israel cut all ties with UNRWA, barring any cooperation or privileges the agency previously held.
The legislation will take effect in 90 days.
Israel has accused UNRWA employees of complicity in last year’s Hamas attack, alleging that the agency’s educational programs “promote terrorism and hatred.”
UNRWA, headquartered in East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, denies the accusations and asserts that it remains neutral, solely focusing on supporting refugees.
The agency was established by a UN General Assembly resolution in 1949, with a mandate to provide assistance and protection to Palestinian refugees.
The Israeli army has continued a devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
Over 43,000 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 101,100 others injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar and Rania Abu Shamala