The head of the International Organization for Migration, Amy Pope, confirmed on Tuesday that there is no way for the organization to replace the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, after the Knesset banned the agency’s activities in Israel.
Amy added that the International Organization for Migration is keen to intensify its support for those who will face crises after the Israeli decision to ban the work of UNRWA, stressing that despite this, it will not be able to replace it.
She continued, “UNRWA is very important to the people of Gaza, and I do not want to leave anyone with the wrong impression that the International Organization for Migration is capable of playing this role, because we cannot.”
Yesterday, Monday, the Knesset approved a draft law prohibiting UNRWA from working in Israel, despite the objection of the United States and the United Nations.
For its part, UNRWA condemned the decision, describing the move as “outrageous.”
She said that replacing the agency was very difficult and Israel should have focused on a ceasefire and peace instead of focusing on the work of UNRWA.
As part of its measures against UNRWA, the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee approved, on October 13, a draft law to ban the work of this UN agency, which paved the way for it to be referred to a second and third reading vote in the General Assembly of the Knesset to become an effective law.
According to the draft law, the 1967 agreement that allowed UNRWA to operate in Israel will be cancelled, and thus the agency’s activities in the country and the occupied Palestinian territories will cease, and any contact between Israeli officials and its employees will be prohibited.