In response to the Israeli Knesset's new law effectivity banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from operating in Israel and Palestine, DAWN issues the following statement:
"The Israeli government's decision to ban UNRWA is a craven effort to deprive Palestinian refugees living under harsh Israeli occupation from receiving not only humanitarian aid but vital education and health services," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of DAWN. "The truth of the matter is that UNRWA and the international community have been footing the humanitarian bill for Israel's occupation, which international law requires Israel to provide ."
"Outlawing the Palestinian refugee agency is yet another futile attempt by Israel to legislate away the Palestinian refugee problem it created," said Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, director of research for Israel-Palestine at DAWN. "The only legitimate reason to disband UNRWA is upon the resolution of the Palestinian refugee question through return and other mechanisms defined in international law."
