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Israel decides to cut off aid to Gaza

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.

63 thoughts on “Israel decides to cut off aid to Gaza

  1. abfab

    "To what end? It's hard to think of one aside from pure retribution."

    The end result is becoming clearer and clearer. It's called genocide.

    1. Anandakos

      Technically, it's not genocide unless Israel locks Palestinians inside Gaza and starves them. Their hope is that the Arab world will relent on its refusal to allow mass immigration from Gaza and the Gazans will leave. That's the slightly less repugnant but equally illegal "ethnic cleansing" which Israel can mention Europeans have indulged in pretty recently.

  2. bbleh

    I'm going to guess it's the same thing that motivated the leaders of Hamas to launch what was justifiably called a "suicide attack" on Israel, ie, a belief there is nothing to lose by pushing to the extreme, in Bibi's case to prolong his political and legal survival.

    Some of it may also be intended to put pressure on the US, ie, if you reduce the flow of weapons to us then we will reduce the flow of food and medicine to the Palestinians. If so, unclear to me whether it will work, but a helluva situation for the US.

    Bibi is a monster. And so are his supporters.

  3. tango

    I expect that this is not the last word on Israel and UNRWA activities. While I have no inside knowledge, it would not surprise me if Israel came to a new agreement with UNWRA to resume aid under various conditions, controls, and limitations. I think the Biden Administration will also be pressuring both Israel and UN officials to meet some Israeli demands.

    I could be wrong here, but I think there is a good chance that aid through some sort of UNWRA-type auspices will continue after 90 days.

      1. tango

        Applying pressure to Israel and also applying pressure to the UN officials to meet some of Israel's demands... sorry if I confused you.

  4. TheMelancholyDonkey

    All of the Jewish parties except Labor voted in favor of banning UNRWA. In a display of the courage that makes one optimistic about the future of the Israeli left, all of the Labor MKs were mysteriously absent from the chamber when the vote was taken.

    1. jemmy

      Labor is barely a party anymore. The liberals have lost in Israeli politics because they kept lying and pretending the Palestinians want peace.

      Liberals have to pretend Palestinians want peace and all the war is because of the mean Jews because the alternative is admitting that partition was dumb and Liberal Internationalism is an irrational and dysfunctional foreign policy theory.

      1. Solar

        "because the alternative is admitting that partition was dumb
        "
        So you supports Bibi's plans to get rid of all partitions, and hence all Palestinians? And then you sick fucks whine when called on your genocidal ideas.

      2. TheMelancholyDonkey

        So, you support giving citizenship in a united country to the Palestinians? That is necessary consequence of undoing the partition.

        Some don't want peace; many do. Through all of this, the Palestinian Authority has continued to assist Israeli security forces, to the best of their ability since Israel has starved the PA of resources.

        The stupidity didn't start with the partition, though that was both dumb and illegal. This entire conflict started when a group of European Jews decided to enact a program of mass immigration to a territory that already had a population, committed to creating a state that excluded 95% of that population from full citizenship. Unsurprisingly, the Palestinian reaction to this program was negative. Since they were excluded from the policy making decisions, first by the Ottomans and then by the British, they responded with the only tool they had: violence.

  5. JT

    Is UNRWA the only group that can help people in Gaza? Of course not. When you consider the mounting evidence that employees of UNRWA actively worked with Hamas and participated in the October 7t atrocities, which is acknowledged by the UN, I'm not sure what anyone expects Israel to do. UNHRC already helps refugees and other groups in need, so why do Gazans need one all to themselves?

    1. pjcamp1905

      Because of Israel's hostility and attempts to erase them from the Earth, and because Israel is at war with Gaza, not Hamas, and will inflict similar treatment on anyone who tries to deliver aid.

      By the way, there is no evidence UNRWA worked with Hamas at any point, especially not the events of October 7th. If you think there is, put up or shut up.

      1. JT

        There are literally videos out there taken by Hamas and shared online showing UNRWA employees participating in the October 7th attack and stealing dead bodies to take back into Gaza.

        UN fires 9 UNRWA employees involved in Oct 7 Hamas attack on Israel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMizCWmM2mw

        Video showing UNRWA social worker stealing body to take into Gaza: https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2024/02/16/unrwa-video-oct-7-israel/

        Of course, you probably won't believe this, but you do you.

        1. Coby Beck

          So your first link is to a press conference held by UNRWA in which to agency says that they fired 9 individuals based on evidence they were not allowed to independently verify provided by and held by Israel that indicated there "may have been some involvement". UNRWA has some 30K employees in the area IIRC. This is the opposite of an indication of organizational corruption.

          The second link is definitely incriminating for a single individual. Again, when you are talking about 30K employees it is not a reason to indict the organization as a whole.

          Your first claim ("There are literally videos out there taken by Hamas and shared online showing UNRWA employees participating in the October 7th attack") is unsupported.

          If you do think UNRWA should be damned for the suspected actions of .03% of its staff, I have a question.

          Would you also condemn an organization that has in its top 10 leaders someone who has a long history of activism leading to dozens of indictments and at least eight convictions of crimes, including incitement to racism, possession of propaganda for a terrorist organization and support for a terrorist organisation?

    2. Solar

      The only evidence that members of UNRWA were involved in the attacks is Israel's word. No evidence of that involvement was given to the UN or any of the other main Israeli allies.

      Israel has been dead set against UNRWA for many years because of the help they provide Palestinians, and because as Kevin alludes to, their mere existence highlights the abuses, deaths, and displaced intentionally caused by Israel in their attempt to control the entire land.

    3. TheMelancholyDonkey

      Is UNRWA the only group that can help people in Gaza?

      Functionally, yes. No other organization has the infrastructure in place to distribute humanitarian aid on the scale necessary. UNRWA has the personnel, the facilities, the contacts, and the experience to do all of this. While some other organization could build out to do the job, that's a long term project. In the short term, cutting UNRWA out means not supplying anything close to the amount of aid needed.

      While UNHRC helps refugees in other places, it was not given that job in Gaza and the West Bank. Infrastructure and personnel in Syria don't help provide aid in Gaza. A transition would take place more quickly if all of the UNRWA assets, including employees, were transferred to UNHCR, but the chances that Israel would allow that are zero. It would defeat whatever the Israeli goal here is.

  6. Solar

    "Why did Israel do this?"

    Because Israel has become a completely sadistic and genocidal nation. Just like MAGA's in the US, they've stopped pretending they were law abiding and civilized. They have enemies and they live to get rid of them. They believe the entire land is theirs and are willing to exterminate or completely remove one way or another every Palestinian.

    They act this way because they know the world, but especially the US is too chickenshit to do anything meaningful about it. Any other nation would already be facing massive sanctions and possibly even military intervention to defend the victims of their sadism.

  7. Solar

    "It's hard to think of one aside from pure retribution.'

    Retribution implies that UNRWA and the people of Gaza as a whole wronged Israel. The only wrong they have done is existing in land Israel wants for itself.

      1. Solar

        If Israel were only going after Hamas members no one would criticize them. But no, they are going after every man, woman, and child that lives in Gaza, which is why they are rightly being criticized. If one of your neighbors kills a member of your family, and in retaliation you not only go after that one person but instead try to kill, starve, or otherwise get rid of the entire neighborhood, you'd rightly be called a monster.

        1. jemmy

          Israel has consistently attempted to evacuate civilians from the areas of its military operations. There are no mass deaths of starvation or illness, even after a year of people like you screaming "genocide". In fact, as Hamas has been defeated, the rate of Palestinian casualties has fallen.

          Is it possible your understanding of the whole situation is distorted trash, just like Kevin's post?

          Joe Biden has one braincell left and it is the one that wants to avoid war with Iran at all costs. He's willing to turn American Jews into second-class citizens to avoid it.

          Biden is trying to keep Hamas in power an his administration is lying about what Israel is doing.

          And Kevin Drum is a dishonest flying monkey working for Biden and the Dems, even though you all know your house is rotting apart. You are on the wrong side of history.

          1. KenSchulz

            Oddly, your fanatical defense of the bloodthirsty policies of the Netanyahu government perpetuates a negative stereotype of Jewish Americans, that every one is a Zionist with greater loyalty to Israel than to the U.S.
            Most of the rest of your comment is lies. Israel has massively destroyed shelter and infrastructure in Gaza, and has conducted air strikes in zones to which they directed noncombatant evacuees. Biden has not in any way supported Hamas, though Bibi and Likud have.

            1. jemmy

              What lies? As I said, they attempted to evacuate the population before destroying the buildings.

              And my understanding is that when Israel strikes an area such as the humanitarian zone or a school, they have known military targets and need the element of surprise. That's "proportionality" by the way.

              Anyway, if you had even a minimal education in antisemitism you'd know we don't give an iota about your perceptions because nothing we do matters. You have a mind virus and are on a one-way trip.

              And as for being loyal to America, what America? It's two warring authoritarian factions trying to oppress each other, and naturally both hate the Jews. Go look in the mirror.

              1. TheMelancholyDonkey

                And my understanding is that when Israel strikes an area such as the humanitarian zone or a school, they have known military targets and need the element of surprise.

                Your understanding is based upon nothing but unverified assertions by the Israeli government.

                That's "proportionality" by the way.

                You need to go back and actually learn how "proportionality" is defined in international law. It does not mean that any attacks that kill civilians is legal so long as there is a military target. It means that the military benefits of an attack must be proportionate to the harm done to civilians.

                https://lieber.westpoint.edu/proportionality-international-humanitarian-law-principle-rule/

          2. TheMelancholyDonkey

            Israel has consistently attempted to evacuate civilians from the areas of its military operations.

            By telling them to move to a location that they proceed to bomb, too, and that doesn't have the infrastructure to support them.

            There are no mass deaths of starvation or illness, even after a year of people like you screaming "genocide".

            Then Israel should allow independent journalists to enter Gaza without being embedded in IDF units. So long as they refuse to do this, they certainly look like they have something to hide.

            You have no idea whether or not there are mass deaths from starvation or illness are taking place. The Israelis refuse to allow for your assertion to be confirmed.

            In fact, as Hamas has been defeated, the rate of Palestinian casualties has fallen.

            And so has the justification for any civilian casualties.

            He's willing to turn American Jews into second-class citizens to avoid it.

            You mean that they would be treated as second class citizens just like Israeli Arabs are treated as second class citizens. Aside from the utter lunacy of this claim (please explain exactly how they would be turned into second class citizens), it highlights another bit of Israeli hypocrisy.

      2. TheMelancholyDonkey

        Because killing Jews isn't wrong. We understand you.

        And we understand you. Because killing Palestinians isn't wrong. This includes not only the fighting in Gaza, but the Israeli government's support of Jewish settler terrorists in the West Bank.

  8. auntiefa

    Ironic that a Netanyahu is pursuing the Final Solution for Palestinians. I think he views this as a battle to the last man standing. Only there are what several hundred million Muslims and 5 million Israelis. He is counting on a repeat of past history where the Arabs and Iranians really don’t care about the Palestinians beyond using them as pawns.

  9. jemmy

    What a trash post. Everyone knows UNRWA is actively hostile to Israel and is perpetuating a culture of violence and antisemitism within Palestinian society, in addition to letting Hamas "steal" aid and use its facilities.

    Has Kevin gained the ability to read Jew minds? No, he's just demonstrating what a dishonest hack he is, and how low the American Left has fallen.

    If you goyim actually gave a crap about the Palestinians, you'd acknowledge that the Israelis have legitimate concerns about UNRWA and try to create an alternative. Instead you just roll around in your incredibly open-minded "conclusions".

    To what end? Indeed.

    1. Solar

      Oh FFS, the only concern Israel has about UNRWA is that they make it harder to eradicate the Palestinians by providing them food and aid in the middle of the misery Israel has put them. That's the start and end of their beef with them.

  10. Lon Becker

    Maybe they are counting on people's understanding of the situation to be so shallow that they they describe the forced refugee status of 2 million people with limited food, the destruction of every medical facility in the territory, the bombing of the safe zones the refugees were sent to, the targeting of food aid workers and reporters, and rules of engagement so loose that they killed three escaped hostages because they fit the definition of threatening, and the crippling of food aid into Gaza as " Israel's war in Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks on October 7" on par with the events that came before and after it. That is after all what at least one liberal did with that list of morally repugnant behavior minus the last one. Given the atrocities that Israel has gotten away with which are hard to spin as anything but moral atrocities, why would it be surprising that they would try one more which they can justify as being because of Hamas?

    Or alternately Israel is a country with otherwise moral people who have had to rationalize the brutality that is necessary to maintain an apartheid state. And it is hard to do that without a lot of delusional beliefs. Think of what it had to be a white person in the antebellum South who defended the institute of slavery. Most Israelis, even relatively liberal ones believe a story by which they offered the Palestinians peace in 2000 only to have the Palestinians respond with the intifada, then they tried for peace again by pulling out of Gaza only to have rockets fired at them. And so with no partner for peace they have no choice but to ignore international law build settlements on occupied territory, herd the Palestinians into smaller and smaller ghettos and use pograms to empty the more scattered ghettos. I am not exactly sure how you make that last logical ste;p, but the story they tell themselves is complete BS as Barak did not vaguely offer the Palestinians peace. The Second Intifada began a flaring of anger at Sharon's march on the Temple Mount which was made because Palestinian anger was in his political interest. And the pull out of Gaza was purely defensive. It is hard to defend scattered settlements in occupied land. Sharon assured the settlers that they could better prevent peace by moving to the West Bank.

    When your whole self-interest is as reality based as your average Trump supporter it should hardly be surprising if the actions that follow aren't exactly rational. And sadly they are probably right that once the Gaza assault ends people will be so glad it ended they won't sweat the details of how many Palestinians were slaughtered or starved.

  11. painedumonde

    Bronze Age thinking gets you Bronze Age solutions. Look UNRWA has to go because the only authority during an occupation is the occupying power. This pussyfooting around has got to stop, finish the job you started. Or don't. Repeat Iraq. Repeat Afghanistan. Join the club of nations bent on helping by selecting for suffering. But just get it done.

    Swiftian rant over.

  12. royko

    I don't consider myself knee-jeek anti-Israel, and I try to keep a broad view of the context of this very messy and complex conflict, and yet for me it's been apparent in Israel's actions over the last year that there are those in power who want to ethnically cleanse Gaza and the West Bank, and to use genocide if they had to do it. We can argue about who exactly in the government wants this and who is only enabling it, but I get the sense that a lot of Israelis are resigned to this course.

    This is a tragedy, watching millions of Palestinians -- most of whom just want to go about living their lives with their families, just as most Israelis just want to go about living their lives, as do most people everywhere -- get stomped. I'm filled with desire to say to the Israeli people, "However you feel, however secure you want to be, continuing on this path will be a stain on your nation forever. And coming from a nation with plenty of stains, it is never worth it." But I know it won't make a difference.

    1. KenSchulz

      You well express the feelings of many of us. I am a grandparent, and with all my heart I would want this conflict to end so that Israelis and Palestinians could live with the assurance that their children and grandchildren will live in peace, and flourish in that land.

    2. Ogemaniac

      “just as most Israelis just want to go about living their lives”

      On land they took from Palestinians. Therein lies the core issue.

      1. Coby Beck

        Yes, this is true. But at this stage Israel could remain and have peace with its neighbours if it would simply abide by international law. End its occupation, allow Palestine to become an independent state and all or its Arab regional neighbours would normalize relations.

    3. tomtom502

      I wonder how cruelty can bring security. If there were only a few Palestinians, maybe. But 8 million? Cruelty will be met with revenge.

  13. AnotherKevin

    I hate Hamas and everyone who supports them, I hate Hezbollah and everyone who supports them, I hate Netanyahu and everyone who supports him and anyone in his governing coalition. I'm rooting for lots of death and injuries for anyone in any of the foregoing categories.

  14. Justin

    Those Israelis are badass. Maybe someone should surrender and accept relocation. Otherwise it’s a fight to the death. Genocide… one side or the other has got to go. Maybe all sides.

      1. Justin

        Even if the muslims cleansed Israel...

        Look, that's what each group is trying to do to the other. And since no one will surrender (or hasn't in the last 100 years) it's a fight to the death. Since I have no personal stake in the outcome, I really don't care which wins or even if they continue to fight for another 100 years. Sure, it's tragic. It's always been tragic. From the Jewish pogroms, to the holocaust, and the Nakba, the various wars, and now this. These groups are all in on hatred and violence. They seem incapable of coexistence so they don't. It's up to them to manage. Of course, I think genocide Joe is a jackass for enabling it. I Can't wait for him to go, but don't really think President Harris will change course. So here we are.

        I'm not picking sides (and there are like 10 different sides). They all suck.

  15. D_Ohrk_E1

    I think it's Bibi's ham-fisted attempt to resolve the question of how Hamas was able to get back into the zones that were cleared. He figures members of UNRWA were involved in coordinating and transporting Hamas fighters. Kicking UNRWA to the curb and making aid go through Israel means Hamas won't be able to sneak back in.

    We might find out if this is the case by way of how Biden reacts.

    1. Coby Beck

      No he doesn't, this is a ridiculous idea. Netanyahu is a lot of odious things, but he is not a total fool.

      And you think the entirety of aid isn't going through Israel now?

  16. sonofthereturnofaptidude

    Just to see what came up, I searched Google News for "pariah state." Israel comes up repeatedly in headlines that mention that phrase. That's what Bibi is turning his beloved Israel into. And some time in the future, the US won't be able to ignore that virtually ALL of its allies have cut off support -- and even diplomatic ties -- with Israel because of actions like these.

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