In response to the Israeli Knesset’s decision to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from areas under Israeli control, Islamic Relief says:
Israel is bombing and starving Palestinians to death, and now by banning UNRWA it has cut off a crucial lifeline for millions of people. This decision will kill many more people, which the Israeli government was fully aware of when it passed the bill.
The decision should not come as a shock to world leaders, who have shamefully chosen not to act as Israel has trampled over international law and systematically blocked humanitarian aid from reaching desperate families. Starvation and denial of aid are being used as weapons of war.
There must be consequences for denying aid while civilians starve. International governments must demand that Israel reverses this decision, and use all the diplomatic, economic and political leverage at their disposal to pressure Israel to abide by international law.
Just hours after the bill against UNRWA was passed, we are seeing yet more horror in northern Gaza. Dozens more civilians, including many children, have been killed when Israel bombed the building where they sought shelter after being forced to flee their homes. This is just the latest atrocity in the blitz of northern Gaza that has killed hundreds of people in recent days and cut off all humanitarian aid in full sight of the world.
People across Gaza desperately need food, water, medicine and protection. 86% of Gaza's population faces crisis-level hunger. Yet at a time when aid should be massively increased, Israel is now impeding it even further by banning UNRWA.
The decision will have a catastrophic impact on families across the whole Occupied Palestinian Territory, threatening vital humanitarian aid that has sustained the Palestinian population for decades. UNRWA is the biggest provider of essential services not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where many of the poorest families living under Israel occupation rely on it for healthcare, education, sanitation and other necessities. Shutting down UNRWA’s operations denies Palestinians access to these essential services and threatens the stability of humanitarian efforts across Gaza and the West Bank.
We call on Canada and all countries that support humanitarian principles to continue to voice their opposition to these laws and to work toward restoring UNRWA's crucial role in alleviating the suffering of millions.