GAZA — Israel's parliament has voted to pass legislation banning the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) from operating within Israel and Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, within three months.

Contact between UNRWA employees and Israeli officials will also be banned, severely limiting the agency's ability to operate in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Cooperation with the Israeli military — which controls all crossings into Gaza — is essential for UNRWA to transfer aid into the war-torn territory. It is the main UN organisation working on the ground there.

UNRWA staff will no longer have legal immunity within Israel, and the agency's headquarters in East Jerusalem will be closed.

A number of countries, including the US, the UK and Germany, have expressed serious concern about the move. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called it "totally wrong", while UNRWA's chief Philippe Lazzarini said it "will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians".

The US State Department said UNRWA played a "critical" role in distributing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. Almost all of the enclave's population of more than two million people are dependent on aid and services from the agency.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "UNRWA workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable", but added that "sustained humanitarian aid must remain available in Gaza".

"We stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel's security," he said on X.

Israel has objected to UNRWA for decades, although this opposition has intensified in recent years.

Israel says UNRWA staff have colluded with Hamas in Gaza, and claimed 19 UNRWA workers took part in the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023.

The UN investigated Israel’s claim and fired nine of those accused, but it said Israel had not provided evidence for broader allegations. UNRWA insists that dealings with Hamas are purely to enable the agency to do its job.

Israel's parliament, the Knesset, approved the two bills by an overwhelming majority on Monday evening.

Presenting the legislation, Yuli Edelstein, the chairman of the Knesset's foreign affairs and security committee, accused UNRWA of being used as a "cover for terrorist actions".

"There is a deep connection between the terrorist organisation (Hamas) and UNRWA, and Israel cannot put up with it," he said in parliament.

UNRWA — the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees — has for decades provided a range of services and support including healthcare and education to millions of Palestinians in Gaza.

Since the war broke out last year, the agency's presence on the ground has made it a crucial part of efforts to get humanitarian supplies to civilians, almost all of whom are dependent on aid for survival.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini condemned the ban as "unprecedented", and said it "opposes the UN Charter and violates the State of Israel’s obligations under international law".

He said people in Gaza had already endured "sheer hell", adding: "It ⁠will deprive over 650,000 girls and boys there from education, putting at risk an entire generation of children."

About two-and-half million Palestinians are registered with UNRWA in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

In northern Gaza, where Israeli troops are conducting military operations against Hamas fighters, hundreds of thousands of people are living in increasingly desperate conditions.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Friday that "the Israeli military is subjecting an entire population to bombing, siege and risk of starvation".

Many Palestinians believe the Israeli military is implementing a "surrender or starve" plan in Gaza's north, which would see the forced displacement of all of the estimated 400,000 civilians there to the south, followed by a siege of any remaining Hamas fighters.

The Israeli military has denied having such a plan and says it is making sure that civilians get out of harm’s way.

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to its 7 October attack on Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 42,710 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry. — BBC