Israel has passed legislation stripping the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) of its diplomatic immunity [Getty]
Israel has passed legislation stripping the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) of its diplomatic immunity, cutting its access to water and electricity, and authorising the expropriation of its offices in East Jerusalem.
The bill passed 59–7 in the Knesset on Monday and took effect immediately, allowing Israeli authorities to seize UNRWA properties, block banking and payment services, and criminalise cooperation with the agency.
Israeli Energy and Infrastructure Minister Eli Cohen defended the law, alleging UNRWA was “an operational arm of Hamas”, a claim Israel has not substantiated with evidence and which UN inquiries have not confirmed. Investigations, including the Colonna review and the OIOS probe, also found no sufficient evidence to support Israel’s allegations.
Senior UNRWA official Jonathan Fowler told The New Arab the latest Israeli law was “completely outrageous and unprecedented…a coordinated and systematic campaign to crush UNRWA” that had placed Israel in “contradiction with its own obligations” under treaties it has ratified.
The move directly contradicts an ICJ order issued in October 2025, which instructed Israel to “facilitate, not hinder” the agency’s work amid ongoing genocide proceedings.
“This is a direct affront to the mandate granted to UNRWA by the UN General Assembly and contrary to the findings of the ICJ,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement.
“This stands in clear violation of Israel’s obligations under international law… It is part of an ongoing, systematic campaign to discredit UNRWA and obstruct its core role.”
Lazzarini said depriving UN institutions of utilities and seizing property “creates a grave precedent” that threatens humanitarian operations worldwide. “Failing to push back will compromise humanitarian and human rights work globally,” he warned.
Earlier this month, Israeli authorities stormed UNRWA’s East Jerusalem compound, tore down the UN flag and replaced it with the Israeli flag, and previously forced the closure of UNRWA schools, removing hundreds of Palestinian children from education.
Humanitarian impact and fears of forced displacement
UNRWA’s clinics in East Jerusalem serve around 70,000 people, many among the most economically vulnerable Palestinians in the city. Officials say cutting electricity, water and banking services could halt critical care, including vaccination programmes and chronic illness treatment.
The legislation comes as more than 71,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since 2023, mostly women and children, according to local health authorities, and amid accusations that Israel is using starvation and the obstruction of aid as tools of war.
Fowler said the agency fears the new law will tighten already severe restrictions that prevent supplies and staff from entering Gaza and the West Bank.
“We have been banned since March from bringing in humanitarian supplies. Is this just going to make everything worse? Yes,” he said.
Analysts warn that weakening or removing UNRWA, the main body providing services, documentation and refugee status, would pave the way for attempts to forcibly remove Palestinians or coerce them to leave areas targeted for annexation.
Fowler noted “creeping annexation” in the West Bank and said the law “creates an environment of uncertainty that appears intentional”.
Jordan’s foreign ministry condemned the Israeli law, saying it “undermines the agency’s ability to deliver vital humanitarian services, including by allowing the seizure of its property and barring basic services to its facilities”.
It called the law “a violation of the immunities and privileges granted to UN organisations” and a “blatant breach of international law”.
“Such legislation forms part of a systematic campaign against UNRWA and reflects continued Israeli efforts to politically dismantle the agency,” the ministry said, calling the measures “illegal and invalid”.
“The actions violate relevant international laws and agreements and target the symbolic role of UNRWA in upholding Palestinian refugees’ right of return and compensation under international law.”
Part of a broader pattern
This is the latest in a series of laws targeting UNRWA. Legislation passed in 2024 banned the agency’s operations in East Jerusalem and suspended all coordination between UNRWA and Israeli authorities. Israel also stopped issuing visas for staff.
UNRWA has repeatedly warned that Israel was dismantling the infrastructure required for Palestinian survival in the territories it occupies.
The agency’s mandate, most recently renewed by the UN General Assembly in December 2025, includes healthcare, education and humanitarian relief – services the ICJ has said are indispensable to the rights of Palestinians.
“UNRWA is irreplaceable,” Lazzarini said. “Israel is obliged to act within the UN framework, not take unilateral action. This legislation is an unacceptable rejection of international law and multilateralism.”
