In letter to Israel, UN chief warns UNRWA ban could have 'devastating consequences'

The UN views Gaza as Israeli-occupied territory, and international law requires an occupying power to agree to relief programs for people in need and to facilitate them "by all the means at its disposal".

UN Secretary-General António Guterres says Israel's ban on UNRWA, if implemented, would violate international law, the founding UN Charter and a UN convention adopted in 1946. Source: SIPA USA / /

UN Secretary-General António Guterres sent a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu overnight protesting against a new law that could effectively cripple the UN agency responsible for aiding Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

The regulations approved by the Israeli parliament on Monday ban the UN agency from operating in Israel and occupied east Jerusalem, and prevent it from communicating and coordinating with Israeli authorities, which could essentially end its work in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Israel has long been at odds with UNRWA and has alleged that some of its employees were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks that triggered the war in Gaza.

The ban is due to start in three months.

In the letter, Guterres said the law could have "devastating consequences" for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank because there is no reasonable alternative to UNRWA for providing the aid and assistance these people need.

"I appeal to you and to the government of Israel to prevent such devastating consequences and to allow UNRWA to continue carrying out its activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, in accordance with its obligations under international law," Guterres wrote.

The agency was created in 1949 by the UN General Assembly after the first Arab-Israeli war, shortly after the creation of Israel in May 1948 and the mass displacement of Palestinians in its wake.

Guterres argued that under international law an occupying power must implement mechanisms for aiding the people living in that occupied territory.

"Israel, as the occupying power, continues to be required to ensure that the needs of the population are met," Guterres wrote.

"If Israel is not in a position to meet such needs, it has an obligation to allow and facilitate the activities of the United Nations, including UNRWA, and other humanitarian agencies, until the needs of Palestine refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are met," he added.

Norway to ask ICJ to 'clarify' Israel's obligations

Norway said on Tuesday it would ask the UN's International Court of Justice to clarify Israel's aid obligations to Palestinians, a day after Israel banned the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

Norway said it was "requesting that the ICJ pronounces on Israel's obligations to facilitate humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population, delivered by international organisations, including the UN and states," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in a statement.

He said Norway would submit a resolution to the UN General Assembly with the request that the ICJ give an advisory opinion on the matter.

Norway angered Israel in May when it, together with Ireland and Spain, recognised the Palestinian state.

And, unlike other donors, it increased its aid to UNRWA in June despite the controversy over whether the agency's employees were involved in the October 7 attack.

Since Israel's assault on Gaza, more than 43,000 people have been killed in the enclave, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Hamas' October 7 attack on southern Israel, which triggered the conflict, killed 1,200 people in Israel, with more than 250 taken hostage.