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Israel has officially pulled out of a 1967 cooperation agreement with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

What’s the deal: Israeli lawmakers passed two new laws in the Knesset that restrict the operations of UNRWA within Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza over security concerns. The new restrictions will go into effect next year. This decision was communicated to the United Nations in a letter addressed to General Assembly President Philémon Yang and Secretary-General António Guterres.  

In the letter, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz cited concerns over alleged connections between UNRWA staff and Hamas, particularly following claims that some personnel may have been involved in the October 7 attack on Israel (a claim UNRWA denies). Katz argued that other international aid organizations could replace UNRWA’s role, pointing to what Israel considers inadequate efforts by the agency to address security concerns.

Reaction from UNRWA: On Social Media, UNRWA responded to the news, saying, “There is no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza, where over 2 million people rely on humanitarian aid. Since the war began, UNRWA has: – Distributed flour to around 1.9 million people – Provided over 6.1 million primary healthcare consultations – Reached over 510,000 children with psychosocial support.”

Concerns from the US: “Last week, a State Department spokesman raised concerns that Israel might limit its cooperation with UNRWA, suggesting this could affect US weapon supplies to Israel. In a statement, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller emphasized, “UNRWA, of course, plays a critical role in providing services to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and throughout the broader — the wider region. And particularly in Gaza, they play a role right now that, at least today, cannot be filled by anyone else. They are a key partner in delivering food, water, and other humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza that wouldn’t have anyone else to get it from if UNRWA were to go away.”

Miller also said, “They certainly have a legal obligation to allow humanitarian assistance in and not to erect roadblocks to humanitarian assistance to people in Gaza. And we have made that clear since the outset of this conflict, and a great number of our engagements with the government of Israel have been around ensuring that they do let humanitarian assistance in, and that they do ensure that humanitarian assistance gets to the people that need it. And that is precisely one of our major concerns about this legislation.”