A bill aimed at designating the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as a terrorist organization passed the first reading in the Israeli Knesset on Wednesday.
UNRWA Staff Participated in Be’eri Massacre, Kidnapping—report
If approved, the “Bill to Abolish the Immunity and Privileges of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)” would cancel the privileges and immunities currently provided to employees of the UN organization.
Those immunities, established by the 1947 UN Privileges and Immunities Ordinance, exempt the United Nations and its officials from legal action, taxes, import and export bans, among other things.
Diplomatic immunities extended to UNRWA staff would be revoked by Israel’s foreign affairs minister.
The bill, introduced by Knesset Member Yulia Malinovsky, was approved in a 42-6 vote, and now returns to committee for further tweaking and then two more readings in the Knesset plenum.
If the measure passes the third reading, Israel’s Anti-Terrorism Law will apply to UNRWA, closing its assets in the State of Israel and ending all ties between the agency and the Jewish State.
Report: Over 450 UNRWA Teachers Participated in Oct. 7 Massacre
Hundreds of employees of the organization working in Gaza were exposed as members of the Hamas terrorist organization since the start of the October 7 war. A number of those were proven to have participated in the October 7 invasion of southern Israel.
Following exposure of the evidence provided by Israel, 10 terrorists employed by UNRWA were fired. Two other terrorists employed by the agency were confirmed to be dead.
During that attack, thousands of Hamas-led terrorists tortured and then slaughtered 1,200 Israeli citizens and foreign nationals while torching homes in some two dozen villages along the Gaza border.
The invaders abducted some 250 others, dragging them into Gaza captivity, where intelligence personnel have said at least 39 were killed. Around 110 others were freed in November in a temporary ceasefire deal with the Iranian-backed terror group, but 125 remain captive in the enclave.
Since the start of the war, myriad Hamas terrorist tunnels and tunnel shafts, command centers, terror dungeons, weaponry and other infrastructure have been discovered inside and beneath UNRWA facilities in Gaza. In some cases, the Hamas infrastructure has been found to be supplied by electricity, water and other utilities by the UNRWA facilities as well.
Textbooks in UNRWA schools throughout Gaza, the Palestinian Authority and in some Jerusalem neighborhoods have repeatedly been found to incite against Israel and encourage the murder of Jews and Israelis as well.
