Last 28 October, the Israel Knesset parliament passed a pair of very important bills that seeks to prohibit the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency from operating in the Middle Eastern country. It was widely supported by the Israel public, but prompted swift and strong condemnation from a few countries.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, better known as UNRWA, has some 30,000 staff working throughout the region, including in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Many of them are accused of supporting terrorism against the state of Israel.
The measure were overwhelmingly passed by the Knesset to bar the organization in Israel, although it was not entirely clear yet what effect the bills would ultimately have.
Yuli Edelstein, a Knesset member and chairman of the parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee who introduced both pieces of legislation, described their passing as "historic" and a "significant movement for the security of the country."
"UNRWA has long ceased being a humanitarian aid agency. Beyond being an integral part of encouraging terrorism and hatred, it is an agency for perpetuating poverty and suffering," Edelstein said in a statement. "The logic is simple -- in order to survive, UNRWA itself creates a demand for the product it provides."
"The cycle of horrors ends today. They are out!," he added in English.
The U.N. agency, formed in 1949 to help Palestinian refugees created by the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, has long been criticized by Israel on charges of extending the Palestinian conflict, but the attacks have increased amid Israel's war with Hamas.
Israel accused a handful of UNRWA's employees of being involved in Hamas' bloody attack that killed 1,2000 Israelis. UNRWA responded by firing nine employees where evidence indicated they may have been involved in the mass attack that ignited the ongoing war.