JERUSALEM, Jan 30, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Israel will cut ties with the UN agency
for Palestinian refugees on Thursday following accusations it provided cover
for Hamas militants, a move likely to hamper delivery of its vital services
after 15 months of war in Gaza.

The agency, UNRWA, will be banned from operating on Israeli soil, and contact
between it and Israeli officials will also be forbidden.

UNRWA has provided support for Palestinian refugees around the Middle East
for over 70 years, but has long clashed with Israeli officials, who have
repeatedly accused it of undermining the country's security.

The hostility intensified in the wake of Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on
Israel, with accusations that UNRWA employees participated in the assault.

"Humanitarian aid doesn't equal UNRWA, and UNRWA doesn't equal humanitarian
aid. UNRWA equals an organization infested with Hamas terror activity,"
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein wrote on social media
platform X ahead of the ban.

"This is why, beginning on January 30 and in accordance with Israeli law,
Israel will have no contact with UNRWA."

The agency's offices and staff in Israel play a major role in the provision
of healthcare and education to Palestinians, including those living in the
Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by the war between Israel and Hamas.

Government spokesman David Mencer told journalists on Wednesday that "UNRWA
is riddled with Hamas operatives", adding that "if a state funds UNRWA, that
state is funding terrorists".

"UNRWA employs over 1,200 Hamas members, including terrorists who carried out
the October 7 massacre," Mencer said. "This isn't aid, it's direct financial
support for terror."

- Terror accusations -

Later on Wednesday, Israel's Supreme Court rejected a petition by Palestinian
human rights group Adalah contesting the UNRWA ban.

The court did note that the legislation "prohibits UNRWA activity only on the
sovereign territory of the State of Israel", but "does not prohibit such
activity in the areas of Judea-Samaria and the Gaza Strip", referring to the
West Bank by its biblical name.

The ban does apply, however, to Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, where UNRWA
has a field headquarters for its operations in the West Bank.

In a statement reacting to the judgement, Adalah said the law would come into
effect "disregarding the catastrophic humanitarian consequences".

The move, which has been backed by Israel's close ally the United States, has
drawn condemnation from aid groups and US allies.

The agency says it has brought in 60 percent of the food aid that has reached
Gaza since the war started with Hamas's 2023 attack on Israel.

Israeli envoy to the United Nations Danny Danon told the UN Security Council
on Tuesday that UNRWA must cease its operations and evacuate all premises it
operates in annexed east Jerusalem on Thursday.

- 'Relentless assault' -

In response, UN chief Antonio Guterres demanded that Israel rescind its
order.

"I regret this decision and request that the government of Israel retract
it," he said, stressing that UNRWA was "irreplaceable".

The agency's chief, Philippe Lazzarini, said UNRWA's capacity to distribute
aid "far exceeds that of any other entity".

He called Israel's actions against UNRWA a "relentless assault... harming the
lives and future of Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territory".

Israel claims that a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the deadly 2023
attack, and insists that other agencies can pick up the slack to provide
essential services, aid and reconstruction -- something the UN and many donor
governments dispute.

A series of investigations, including one led by former French foreign
minister Catherine Colonna, found some "neutrality-related issues" at UNRWA,
but stressed Israel had not provided evidence for its headline allegation.

Under US President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House earlier this
month, Washington has thrown its weight behind Israel's move, accusing UNRWA
of overstating the impact of the decision.