UNRWA chief appeals to UN Security Council to stop Israeli ban

The head of UNRWA on Tuesday called on the UN Security Council to stop Israel from enforcing a ban that will prevent the UN Palestinian aid agency from operating in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, two days before it is set to take effect.

Implementing the legislation passed by the Israeli parliament "will heighten instability and deepen despair in the occupied Palestinian territories at a critical moment," Philippe Lazzarini told the most powerful UN body in New York.

He called for a "decisive intervention in support of peace and stability" in the region.

Israel moved to bar the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from working on Israeli territory after alleging that some of its employees were involved in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attacks that sparked the Gaza war.

The ban, which is set to take effect on January 30, also prohibits Israeli officials from cooperating with the organization.

In his appeal to the Security Council, Lazzarini highlighted the importance of UNRWA particularly in light of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip due to the 15-month-long war between Israel and Hamas.

"In fact, UNRWA constitutes half the emergency response, with all other entities delivering the other half," he said.

"Since October 2023 we have delivered two-thirds of all food assistance, provided shelter to over a million displaced persons, and vaccinated a quarter of millions of children against polio."

Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire but the situation remains tense.

"If we fail to resume education in Gaza and to preserve it in the occupied West Bank, we will sacrifice an entire generation of Palestinian children," the UNRWA chief warned.

"We are in a position to do something. It only requires your decisive action and leadership," he told the council's members.