International UNRWA staff leave as Israel’s ban begins

Aid agency says work in West Bank and Gaza will continue

- BEL TREW

The international staff of the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) have had to evacuate and relocate to Jordan, its officials said as Israeli legislation banning it came into effect yesterday.

The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, and the body’s Security Council have described UNRWA as the “backbone of humanitarian aid” in the Strip, which has been devastated by a ruinous 15-month war between Israel and Hamas. Israeli officials, however, have repeatedly accused UNRWA of “bankrolling its enemies” and having ties to terrorism, a charge that the agency and UN officials have vehemently denied.

In October Israel adopted legislation, banning UNRWA’s operation on Israeli land – including East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in a move not recognised internationally. Contact with Israeli authorities would also cease with restrictions coming into play on 30 January.

Jonathan Fowler, a UNRWA spokesperson, said that Israel had also shortened all of UNRWA’s international staff visas to expire on Wednesday, which “is tantamount to being evicted” or declared persona non grata. He added that it has forced UNRWA to relocate its international workforce to Amman, Jordan.