Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday instructed the immediate enforcement of the UNRWA law, which was passed by the Knesset with broad support. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders to cut funding for the UN RWA. The acting head of theUN aid coordination office, Joyce Msuya, had called the decision \”dangerous and outrageous\” whilst Commissioner-General of UNR WA Philippe Lazzarini had said that the bills will \”increase the suffering of the Palestinians and are nothing less than collective punishment\” The agency was established shortly after the creation of the United Nations itself by General Assembly resolution 302 (IV) in the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war to provide \”direct relief and works programmes\” for registered Palestinian refugees, defined as \”persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948 and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1938 war\” It has provided essential humanitarian services to Palestine refugees in areas controlled by Israel, notably in Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. These include health facilities, schools and vocational training centres.
