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UNRWA says it is carrying on aid work despite Israeli ban on agency
UNRWA is the PLO’s charity wing at the UN. In Gaza that means Hamas, and a large number of UNRWA employees are double dipping as Hamas turbans of one sort or another. Some even joined in the fun of the 10/7 invasion of Israel, and/or partook in the myriad pleasures of holding some of the hostages for Hamas over the past fifteen months. One can understand Israel’s revulsion.
[IsraelTimes] Official says organization ‘continues to be the backbone of the international humanitarian response’ in Gaza

The UN’s Paleostinian relief agency said Friday its humanitarian work across the West Bank and Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
 was still ongoing despite an Israeli ban that took effect a day before and what it described as hostility towards its staff.

An Israeli law adopted in October bans operations by UNRWA (United Nations
...a formerly good idea gone bad...
 Relief and Works Agency for Paleostine Refugees) on Israeli land — including East Jerusalem — and contact with Israeli authorities from January 30.

Britannia, La Belle France and Germany on Friday reiterated their concern over Israel implementing the new law, which humanitarian agencies say will have a huge impact on devastated Gaza as staff and supplies transit to the Paleostinian enclave via Israel. Israel says other organizations are already handling the majority of aid work in Gaza.

"We continue to provide services," Juliette Touma, director of communications of UNRWA, told a press briefing in Geneva. "In Gaza, UNRWA continues to be the backbone of the international humanitarian response. We continue to have international personnel in Gaza, and we continue to bring in trucks of basic supplies."

She said any disruptions to its work in Gaza would put a ceasefire deal that halted the war between Israel and Hamas
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
 at risk.

"If UNRWA is not allowed to continue to bring and distribute supplies, then the fate of this very fragile ceasefire is going to be at risk and is going to be in jeopardy," she said.

Tens of thousands of Paleostinian refugees in East Jerusalem also receive education, healthcare and other services from UNRWA.

Touma said that its Paleostinian staff in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are facing difficulties, citing examples of stone-throwing and hold-ups at checkpoints and protests at its sites, blaming "Israeli hard boys."

"They face an exceptionally hostile environment as a fierce disinformation campaign against UNRWA continues," she said. "It has been a really rough ride, it has not been easy. Our staff have not been protected."

Israeli protesters vandalized a UN sign on Thursday outside one of its East Jerusalem compounds by spray-painting a blue Star of David on it.

International staff have already left after their visas expired, she added. The agency has reported more than 270 of its staff killed in the 15-month Gaza war and called for investigations.

Israel has long been critical of UNRWA, saying it perpetuates the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict by bestowing refugee status to the descendants of refugees — a designation not afforded to any other refugees in the world. It has also accused the agency of promoting hatred in its schools, fostering Paleostinian dependence on aid over decades through its system, and allowing snuffies to infiltrate its ranks, with some taking part in the October 7 atrocities and hundreds more having ties to terror groups.

The ceasefire deal has allowed for a surge in humanitarian aid and enabled the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for Paleostinian prisoners held by Israel, many of them convicted murderers.

Before the agreement, experts had warned of imminent famine in parts of northern Gaza, a charge Israel repeatedly rejected. Supplies have since risen and the World Food Programme said that more than 32,000 tons of food had entered Gaza since the January 19 deal took effect.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has said Israel was committed to facilitating humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, saying aid should go through other international agencies and NGOs.

"Humanitarian aid doesn’t equal UNRWA and those who wish to support the humanitarian aid effort in the Gaza Strip should invest their resources in organizations alternative to UNRWA," he said in a statement. "We will abide by the law and we will continue to facilitate humanitarian aid."

UNRWA is now banned from operating on Israeli soil, and contact between it and Israeli officials is also forbidden.

The ban was passed by the Knesset in November with a wide majority, with the support of opposition parties, amid a series of revelations about employees of the agency who were actively involved in terror groups in the Gaza Strip, participation of some of its staff in the October 7, 2023, Hamas invasion and slaughter, and repeated use of UNRWA infrastructure for terror activities.

Israel has also provided evidence that the agency’s schools incited hatred of Israel and glorification of attacks against Israelis.

UNRWA was established in 1949 following Israel’s 1948 War of Independence. It provides aid, health and education to millions of Paleostinians in Gaza, the West Bank and neighboring Arab countries — Syria, Leb
...The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. Only one of those statements is an exaggeration....
 and Jordan.

Some 5.9 million people are registered as Paleostinian refugees by UNRWA, because they are descended from Arabs displaced in the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948.

It is one of only two UN refugee agencies. While UNRWA caters to Paleostinians, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is responsible for all other refugees around the world.

Government front man David Mencer told journalists on Wednesday that "UNRWA is riddled with Hamas operatives," adding that "if a state funds UNRWA, that state is funding terrorists."

"UNRWA employs over 1,200 Hamas members, including snuffies who carried out the October 7 massacre," Mencer said. "This isn’t aid, it’s direct financial support for terror."

UN chief António Guterres
...Portuguese politician and diplomat, ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously, he was the UN High Commissioner for Refugees between 2005 and 2015. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and was the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party from 1992 to 2002. He served as President of the Socialist International from 1999 to 2005. In both a 2012 and 2014 poll, the Portuguese public ranked him as the best Prime Minister of the previous 30 years...
 on Monday demanded that Israel rescind its order.

"I regret this decision and request that the government of Israel retract it," he said, stressing that UNRWA was "irreplaceable."

The agency’s chief, Philippe Lazzarini, said UNRWA’s capacity to distribute aid "far exceeds that of any other entity."

He called Israel’s actions against UNRWA a "relentless assault... harming the lives and future of Paleostinians across the occupied Paleostinian territory."

Israel has provided evidence that a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the deadly 2023 attack and insists that other agencies can pick up the slack to provide essential services, aid and reconstruction — something the UN and many donor governments dispute.

A series of investigations, including one led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some "neutrality-related issues" at UNRWA, but claimed Israel had not provided evidence for its headline allegation.

Under US President Donald Trump
...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania...
, who returned to the White House earlier this month, Washington has thrown its weight behind Israel’s move, accusing UNRWA of overstating the impact of the decision.
Posted by: trailing wife 2025-02-01
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=738203