Israel’s democracy would be “deeply harmed” if the Knesset were to pass bills to end Israeli government cooperation with UNRWA, said Member of Parliament and the UK’s Middle East minister Hamish Falconer, according to a Sunday report by The Guardian.
The UK minister spoke during a joint statement from seven European foreign ministries that urged Israel to drop the proposed bill, saying, “It is crucial that UNRWA and other UN organizations be fully able to deliver humanitarian aid and their assistance to those who need it most, fulfilling their mandates effectively.”
Additionally, foreign ministers from Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement expressing their “grave concern” over the shutdown, particularly in light of the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza due to the war.
UK minister urges more Gaza aid
Falconer also urged Israel to allow more aid into Gaza and said that the measures taken by the Labour government did not indicate a decline in support for Israel. The Guardian quoted Falconer saying that such a development would “neither be in Israel’s interest or realistic” and that he is “deeply concerned” by the legislation.
“Given the agency’s vital role in delivering aid and essential services at a time when more aid should be getting into Gaza, it is deeply harmful to Israel’s international reputation as a democratic country that its lawmakers are taking steps that would make the delivering of food, water, medicines, and healthcare more difficult.”
The Knesset is set to pass two bills on Monday that would shut down UNRWA operations in east Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank within 90 days, despite a massive international pressure campaign against such a step.
A source in the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that the bills were expected to pass.
Tovah Lazaroff and Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
