BERLIN: The German government on Monday said it “sharply” criticized a bill passed by Israel’s parliament to ban the UN agency for Palestinian refugees from working in Israel and occupied east Jerusalem.
Germany’s Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Assistance, Luise Amtsberg, also warned the move would “effectively make UNRWA’s work in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem impossible... jeopardizing vital humanitarian aid for millions of people.”
The vote in Israel’s parliament followed years of harsh Israeli criticism of UNRWA, which has only increased since the start of the war in Gaza following Hamas’s deadly October 7 attacks last year.
Amtsberg said the implementation of the law as it currently stands “would be a fateful step” and that “our efforts to bring peace to the Middle East would be hindered.”
“The Israeli action against a UN-mandated organization that has been doing vital work since 1950 is a dangerous signal of disrespect for the United Nations and for international cooperation,” she said.
In January, Israel accused a dozen of UNRWA’s Gaza employees of involvement in the October 7 attack by Hamas, which sparked the deadliest war in the Palestinian territory.
A series of probes found some “neutrality related issues” at UNRWA, and determined that nine employees “may have been involved” in the October 7 attack, but found no evidence for Israel’s main allegations.
Amtsberg acknowledged that “UNRWA has taken measures to address allegations of support for terrorist organizations by individual staff members and to reform internal procedures.”
She said the UN agency “must continue to implement these reforms as a high priority and further strengthen its neutrality.”

AL-QUSAYR: The flow of displaced families crossing from Lebanon into Syria via a secondary crossing has slowed to a trickle after an Israeli strike there last week, a local official told AFP on Monday.
The land crossing on Lebanon’s northeastern border, known as Jousieh on the Syrian side, connects to Qusayr in Syria’s Homs province.
It was put out of service last Friday when the Israeli strike created a large crater that blocked vehicle traffic.
The raid came after the main land border with Syria, known as Masnaa on the Lebanese side and which lies between Beirut and Damascus, was forced to close by an Israel strike on October 4.
The attacks have heavily constrained the ability of people to flee Lebanon overland at a time when all airlines except the national carrier have suspended flights.
“The movement of displaced people has dropped by 90 percent since the (Jousieh) crossing was targeted,” said Dabbah Al-Mashaal, a Syrian official who oversees the crossing.
“We used to receive about 1,500 people a day, but today the number does not exceed 150,” he told AFP.
Lebanese authorities said on Friday that more than half a million people, mostly Syrians, had crossed into Syrian territory since Israel began heavily striking Lebanon late last month at the start of its all-out war with Hezbollah.
Six official land crossings connect the two countries, although there are many unofficial routes along the porous border.
Four connect Lebanon to Homs province to the northeast. The province is home to the city of Qusayr, which became a major hub for Hezbollah when it intervened in the Syrian civil war in support of President Bashar Assad.
At the Jousieh crossing on Monday, people were seen crossing into Syria on foot, carrying their belongings in plastic bags and pushing buggies, according to an AFP correspondent.
The Israeli army said on Friday that it had destroyed Hezbollah infrastructure at the crossing.
Israel has repeatedly accused the Iran-backed group of transferring weapons into Lebanon from Syria.
Since September 23, Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed at least 1,672 people, according to an AFP tally of nationwide health ministry figures though the real number is likely to be higher due to data gaps.