JERUSALEM — The Israeli Knesset on Wednesday gave preliminary approval to legislation that would disconnect electricity and water supplies to all properties associated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and allow the state to immediately reclaim agency compounds in East Jerusalem.
In a 28–8 first-reading vote dominated by the governing coalition, lawmakers advanced amendments to the October 2024 law that already banned UNRWA operations inside Israel and prohibited official contacts with the agency. The new measures, tabled by Likud MKs Avichay Buaron and Boaz Bismuth, now proceed to committee before three additional readings required for final passage.
If enacted, the bill would:
- Oblige Israeli utility companies to terminate services to any property registered to UNRWA unless the agency formally disavows its presence (a step UNRWA has said it will never take).
- Authorise the Israel Land Authority to seize, without court order, several East Jerusalem sites leased to UNRWA since the 1960s, including offices in the Ma’alot Dafna and Kafr Aqab neighbourhoods.
Proponents, led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party and elements of Likud, described the legislation as the final step in “dismantling an organisation that perpetuates terror”. They cited Israeli intelligence claims that at least twelve UNRWA employees participated in the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks and that a Hamas command centre operated beneath the agency’s Gaza City headquarters.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini called the vote “a grave violation of the UN Charter and international law”, warning that cutting utilities would effectively close hundreds of schools and clinics serving Palestinian refugees across the occupied territories and Gaza.
The move comes despite the International Court of Justice’s July 2024 advisory opinion declaring Israel’s occupation unlawful and emphasising UNRWA’s indispensable humanitarian role. Seven European governments that had briefly suspended funding in early 2024 have since resumed contributions after independent reviews found no evidence of widespread staff involvement in militancy.
Opposition lawmakers, including Meretz and the Arab Joint List, condemned the bill as “collective punishment” that would deepen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the agency remains the largest provider of food, healthcare and education.
With the coalition holding a comfortable majority, analysts expect the legislation to become law early in 2026 unless blocked by the High Court of Justice or softened in committee.
