In an apparent attempt to lose whatever international support they still retain, Israel voted overwhelmingly yesterday to kick out UNRWA from Gaza. UNRWA distributes the vast majority of aid to Gaza, and no other organization has the know-how and the personnel to take its place. They're indispensable. But everybody's most loathed prime minister just shrugged:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on social media on Monday that it was essential that “sustained humanitarian aid” remain available in Gaza. He gave no details of how that should be accomplished. But Mr. Netanyahu’s office released a statement saying that the government was 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.”
Technically, Israel has merely banned UNRWA from any contact with Israeli officials, but since that's essential to delivering aid it effectively puts UNRWA out of business. For good measure, Israel also banned UNRWA from activity in Israel's "sovereign territory," which might or might not include Gaza. But the message is crystal clear regardless.
Why did Israel do this? Allegedly it's because they believe UNRWA is basically an arm of Hamas. But that's absurd. In an organization of 13,000 people there are bound to be some Hamas sympathizers, but there's no evidence those numbers are even 1% of the total. The real reason for the ban can be gleaned more simply from UNRWA's full name: the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. Israel dislikes the very mention of refugees, since it implies that someday they might return to family homes lost in the 1948 war—an ironclad no-no in Israeli politics. The allegation of a Hamas partnership was little more than a convenient excuse for doing something they've wanted to do for a long time.
The ban takes effect in 90 days, so nothing will happen immediately. But food is mostly delivered to Gaza from a dozen UNRWA depots stocked from hundreds of UNRWA trucks driven by thousands of UNRWA drivers. It's a massive undertaking, and not one that can be replaced in 90 days:
Along with the Palestinian Red Crescent, Unrwa handles almost all aid distribution in Gaza through 11 centres across the enclave. It also provides services to 19 refugee camps in the West Bank. Unrwa director William Deere told the BBC that on a practical level, the ban on interacting with Israeli officials meant it would become almost impossible for the agency's staff to operate in the country.
"We won't be able to move in Gaza without being subject to possible attack, international staff won't be able to get visas any longer," he said.
The executive director of the UN's World Food Programme said without Unrwa's presence in Gaza, aid agencies will be unable to distribute essential food and medicine. "They do all the work on the ground there," Cindy McCain told the BBC. "We don't have the contacts. We don't have the ability to get to know the contacts, because things are so intensely difficulty there."
Everyone understands all of this, which makes Israel's action little more than a gratuitous attempt to amp up the brutality and make Palestinian lives even more miserable than they already are.
To what end? It's hard to think of one aside from pure retribution.
