The gravity of Israel’s ban on UNRWA

The gravity of Israel’s ban on UNRWA

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, was this week ordered to stop its operations in occupied East Jerusalem, three months after Israel’s parliament voted to ban it.

UNRWA is the main provider of humanitarian aid and other public services for Palestinians. In East Jerusalem, it runs 12 facilities that provide critical public services, including schools where more than 1,200 children are enrolled and free clinics that serve more than 70,000 people.

But the impact of the ban would extend across the West Bank as well, where the organisation offers primary healthcare services and 47,000 children go to UNRWA schools. The move would also affect its work in Gaza. During Israel's war on the enclave, up to a million people at a time have sought refuge in UNRWA shelters.

Pressure from the international community and pleas by UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini at the UN Security Council to stop the ban from being put into effect have failed so far. Israel insisted the ban would not be reversed and the US backed its “sovereign decision”, saying UNRWA is not the only provider of aid to Palestinians.

Despite the legislation, UNRWA has stated it will continue to do its work for as long as it can, but fears are growing that the ban will have far-reaching consequences.

In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher speaks to Tamara Alrifai, UNRWA's director of external relations and communications, about the toll this could take on Palestinians in dire need of humanitarian assistance, and how the agency will be able to carry out its work going forward.

Jaksot(478)

The desperation that drove refugees from Lebanon to their deaths at sea

The desperation that drove refugees from Lebanon to their deaths at sea

Late one Saturday night towards the end of April, a boat set off to sea from near Lebanon’s second city, Tripoli. It was an ageing craft, nearly 50 years old, built to comfortably hold maybe a dozen p...

6 Touko 202219min

Is Rwanda really the solution to Britain’s migrant issue?

Is Rwanda really the solution to Britain’s migrant issue?

Rescued from the choppy seas of the English Channel or landing on the windswept beaches of the east of England, over the last three years thousands of people in small inflatable dinghies have made the...

29 Huhti 202228min

The Ramadan food crisis

The Ramadan food crisis

Muslims around the world are marking the first Ramadan in three years to take place largely without Covid-19 restrictions. But now another crisis is casting a pall over the holy month.   The war in Uk...

22 Huhti 202219min

Is this really the end for Imran Khan?

Is this really the end for Imran Khan?

Pakistan has a new prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif. The 70-year-old this week replaced Imran Khan, who failed to stop a no-confidence motion against him in what was a dramatic last-minute vote on the n...

15 Huhti 202225min

How Afghans in Poland are helping Ukrainian refugees

How Afghans in Poland are helping Ukrainian refugees

A group of Afghan refugees in Poland have rushed to support the millions of Ukrainians who fled the Russian invasion. The painful memories of their own war are a shadow only too recent. One of the gro...

7 Huhti 202220min

What happens after Expo 2020 Dubai?

What happens after Expo 2020 Dubai?

Your curtains open on a timer. You rise with the sun shining - which it does most days of the year here - and a sensor detects when you’re standing under the shower, activating the water at your prefe...

29 Maalis 202216min

Ukraine’s women in war

Ukraine’s women in war

Since the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine, millions of people have fled the country in search of safety elsewhere in Europe. Most are women and children, with men of fighting age required to stay and...

24 Maalis 202222min

Why Iran is raining rockets on Iraq

Why Iran is raining rockets on Iraq

In the early hours of March 13, 2022, streaks of light punctuated the sky above the northern Iraqi city of Erbil as a barrage of rockets rained down on a building near the old town. The thud and blast...

17 Maalis 202226min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
politiikan-puskaradio
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-podme-livebox
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
viisupodi
rss-asiastudio
otetaan-yhdet
radio-antro
linda-maria
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-tasta-on-kyse-ivan-puopolo-verkkouutiset
rss-kalevi-sorsa-saation-podcast
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-merja-mahkan-rahat