Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Yuli Edelstein: "The State of Israel has the right and the duty, just like any country that cherishes life, to fight against threats to it, especially when they are located in its very heart." MK Boaz Bismuth: "UNRWA is not a refugee aid agency, UNRWA is an aid agency for Hamas."
The Knesset plenum approved in the second and third readings the bill to cease UNRWA's activities in the territory of the State of Israel, 5785-2024, by Knesset members Boaz Bismuth, Eren HaKal, Henoch Melibetsky, and a group of Knesset members. 92 Knesset members supported the proposal, compared to 10 who opposed it.
It is proposed that UNRWA will not operate any representation, provide any service, or conduct any activity, directly or indirectly, in the sovereign territory of the State of Israel. Additionally, reporting provisions to the Knesset and a delayed commencement of the law's provisions are proposed.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Yuli Edelstein, presented the proposal: "Even before the events of October 7, reports in the media indicated that UNRWA's activities serve as a cover for terrorist operations."
Additionally, studies were conducted and presented to the committee, indicating that UNRWA's activities encourage and perpetuate the continuation of the conflict with the State of Israel, particularly through UNRWA's education system, where many examples can be found – demonization of the State of Israel, content containing incitement to hatred, violence, and anti-Semitism, praise for terrorists, and calls for violent struggle against the State of Israel and the Jewish people.
If that weren't enough, in the months following the outbreak of the Iron Swords War, investigations were revealed regarding the deep involvement of agency workers in the Gaza Strip in the murderous terrorist attack that began on October 7, including participation in acts of murder and massacre, the abduction of Israeli citizens, and the provision of vehicles and means for carrying out the attack. The State of Israel has the right and the duty, just like any other nation that cherishes life, to fight against threats against it, especially when these threats are found in the very heart of the State of Israel.
MK Sharren Haskel: "This law that I initiated is a milestone for me and a closing of a circle." Israel has the full and absolute right to act against UNRWA after the failure of the international community. There is no country in the world where employees of an international organization would participate in the massacre of its citizens, and the organization would continue to exist on its soil for even one more day. "The organization that was founded in sin and corrupted to the core stands at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
MK Boaz Bismuth: "The law we just passed is not just another law." This is a call for justice, a wake-up call that sets a clear red line – anyone who dares to assist terrorism and behaves like a terrorist has no right to exist in the State of Israel. Not now and not in the future. UNRWA is not a refugee aid agency, UNRWA is a Hamas aid agency. UNRWA is equal to Hamas, period.
In the explanatory notes to the proposal, it is written: "Once it has been proven to the State of Israel that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and its employees participate and are involved in terrorist activities against Israel, it is proposed to determine that Israel will act to cease all activities of the agency within its territory."