Why Israel's UNRWA ban could be devastating for Palestinians

By Free Republic | Created at 2024-10-30 22:59:31 | Updated at 2024-11-05 23:56:19 6 days ago

Why Israel's UNRWA ban could be devastating for Palestinians
NBC News | Comcast ^ | October 30, 2024 | By Alexander Smith (D-NBC)

Posted on 10/30/2024 3:47:04 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer

UNRWA provides far more than humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. In this impoverished enclave, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees acts almost like a state, providing essential services such as health care, education and even psychological support.

That’s why there was an outburst of dismay from Palestinians, countries around the world and aid organizations when Israel’s parliament voted to outlaw any contact between itself and UNRWA — a move that will severely hamper the embattled humanitarian agency.

Israel says the organization has been infiltrated by Hamas "widely and deeply," accusing its staffers of taking part in the Oct. 7 terror attack in which 1,200 people died and another 250 were kidnapped. In response, UNRWA fired at least 10 people.

Much of the rest of the world says that while it is not perfect, UNRWA is the only thing standing between the humanitarian disaster playing out in Gaza and a fate somehow more hellish.

In Gaza, “the humanitarian community as a whole is performing the functions of the state,” said Scott Paul, director of peace and security at the anti-poverty charity Oxfam America. “UNRWA is by far the central actor in that apparatus. And pulling the rug out from UNRWA is essentially pulling the rug out from under people’s most basic needs.

(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...

TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Iran; Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: journalism; media; mideast; press

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To: Oldeconomybuyer

2 posted on 10/30/2024 3:48:17 PM PDT by montag813

To: Oldeconomybuyer

Good! Kick the UnitedNazis out and KEEP them out!

3 posted on 10/30/2024 3:48:48 PM PDT by faithhopecharity ("Politicians aren't born, they're excreted." Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 to 43 BCE))

To: Oldeconomybuyer

Maybe the palis should have considered that before putting babies in ovens.

To: Oldeconomybuyer

5 posted on 10/30/2024 3:50:55 PM PDT by rktman (Destroy America from within ? Check! WTH? Enlisted USN 1967 to end up with this💩? 🚫💉! 🇮🇱👍!)

To: Oldeconomybuyer

<< Israel says the organization has been infiltrated by Hamas “widely and deeply,” accusing its staffers of taking part in the Oct. 7 terror attack >>

All true. We need to ban the UN terrorist enablers from our soil as well.

6 posted on 10/30/2024 3:53:28 PM PDT by Mr. Mojo

To: Mr. Mojo

Perhaps even worse than UN “aid workers” participating in the October 7 rape and massacre of Israeli women and children (if worse is possible) is that the UN with the support of the Biden DOJ claims they have immunity for war crimes. US court, the United Nations, with support from the US Department of Justice, has argued that UNRWA employees who were involved in the October 7 massacre are immune from legal action, Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 News reported on Saturday evening.
According to the document, UNRWA employees involved in the massacre are shielded from prosecution due to their immunity.

“Since the UN has not waived immunity in this instance, its subsidiary, UNRWA, continues to enjoy absolute immunity from prosecution, and the lawsuit should be dismissed,” the UN’s response stated.
The US Department of Justice echoed this position. “The plaintiff’s complaint does not present a legal basis for claiming that the United Nations waived its immunity. Therefore, because the UN has not waived immunity in this case, its subsidiary, UNRWA, retains full immunity, and the lawsuit against UNRWA should be dismissed due to lack of subject matter jurisdiction.”

7 posted on 10/30/2024 3:57:55 PM PDT by oldernittany

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