URGENT: UK Government action required by 29 January to prevent Israel’s ban on UNRWA

Posted: 13th January 2025

Unless Benjamin Netanyahu changes course, Israel will compel UNRWA to stop operating in Israel and Palestine (the Occupied Palestinian Territory) by 30 January. Yet more Palestinian civilians will die of hunger in Gaza, and West Bank refugees will suffer grievously.

Please write to your MP now to press our Government to work urgently to prevent this destructive action by the Israeli Government. UNRWA is literally irreplaceable in Gaza, and delivers essential health and education services in the West Bank.

A draft letter is below for your consideration. The text is below.

If you click HERE and type in your postcode, the email will be addressed automatically to your MP. Please feel free to amend the draft and send. When you receive your MP’s response, please share it with us by emailing it to [email protected].

Thank you in advance.

With best wishes,

Andrew Whitley
Chair, Balfour ProjectEmail your MP nowDear [Recipient],

URGENT: UK Government action required by 29 January to prevent Israel’s ban on UNRWA

I write to ask you urgently to transmit this letter with your comments to the Foreign Secretary.

On 28 October 2024, Israel’s Parliament passed two Bills banning the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from operating in Israel and instituted a “no contact” policy with the Agency. If implemented by Israel’s Government when they come into effect on 30 January, in 17 days’ time, UNRWA will likely be obliged to halt its work throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).

These measures constitute an attempt to destroy an indispensable United Nations Agency which our Government supports financially and politically. They will compound what is already a humanitarian catastrophe, with long lasting consequences for the entire region. UNRWA is the essential lifeline for humanitarian aid to Gaza. Under normal circumstances, it also provides education, health and social services usually provided by states to 2.5 million Palestinian refugees in the OPT. The ban constitutes an attack on the international rules-based system of international law that the United Kingdom has pledged to uphold.

Our Government’s opposition to Israel banning UNRWA was spelt out by the Prime Minister when he met UNRWA’s Commissioner-General last month and announced increased financial support for the Agency. Efforts to dissuade the Government of Israel from implementing the laws must continue at the highest level – with serious consequences for our bilateral relations if Mr. Netanyahu continues to ignore the message.

The position in law

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued provisional measures in January, March, and May 2024, ordering Israel to facilitate humanitarian aid. The order of 28 March 2024 specifically required Israel to ensure the delivery of urgently needed assistance in cooperation with the United Nations. Banning UNRWA would violate these measures. On 21 November 2024 the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against two Israeli Ministers, citing deprivation of “objects indispensable to survival” as a reasonable ground for prosecution. The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024 affirmed that Israel’s 1967 occupation is unlawful, and urged third states, including the UK, to cease economic ties that sustain illegal settlements and ensure compliance with international law. The Opinion highlighted the role of third states in preventing and halting grave breaches of the law, including acts with genocidal implications.

Israel, as the occupying power, bears responsibility for the welfare of Palestinian refugees under international humanitarian law. The Knesset Acts include no provision for the continued delivery of essential services, leaving 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza exposed to starvation, disease and further displacement. As the UN Secretary General Antόnio Guterres noted in his letters to the Security Council and General Assembly of 9 December 2024, if UNRWA is obliged to cease its work in the OPT, Israel will have the legal obligation to maintain those services. Banning UNRWA will destabilise further the wider region, specifically Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Action required

The UK has historic and legal obligations to act decisively to address this crisis. Our Government should work with partners to dissuade Israel from banning UNRWA, making it clear that if Israel proceeds, the consequences for our bilateral relations will be severe. Mr Lammy is well aware of the options at his disposal in that event – the need now is to prevent the ban taking effect. The Minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer, made clear in the Commons on 7 January 2025 the Government’s frustration with Israel’s repeated restrictions on aid access to Gaza – including UK aid. That assessment needs to be translated into action if Israel bans UNRWA.

Decisive action now is needed to prevent an irreversible, intentional humanitarian catastrophe that could have severe consequences for our own future security.

Yours sincerely,
[Your Name]

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