Israel says no to UN resolution demanding it work with UNRWA

Israel on Friday rejected a resolution adopted by the U.N. General Assembly earlier in the day calling on the Jewish state to cooperate with the U.N.’s relief agency for Palestinians, on the grounds that the organization has become a “subsidiary” of Hamas.

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is a “hotbed of terrorism,” Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon tweeted.

Israel “will not forget the crimes against humanity committed by UNRWA workers on October 7th. We will not forget that an UNRWA ‘social worker’ kidnapped Yonatan Samerano’s lifeless body to Gaza. For the sake of peace in the world, UNRWA must go,” the ambassador wrote.

Samerano was murdered during the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. His body was taken by an UNRWA employee to Gaza. He was buried in Israel in July after Israeli security forces retrieved his remains.

The General Assembly resolution on Friday welcomed the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice from Oct. 22 that laid out Israel’s supposed obligations toward the Palestinians, including the facilitation of humanitarian assistance through UNRWA.

The foreign ministries of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates in a joint statement lauded the assembly’s vote, which passed 139 to 12, with 19 abstentions, affirming the “indispensable role” of the U.N. agency in treating Palestinian affairs.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said the U.N. vote was a pushback against Israeli and American arguments that UNRWA is infiltrated by Hamas.

“UNRWA is the key humanitarian actor in the occupied Palestinian territory, and everything must be done to facilitate our work, not hinder or prevent it,” Lazzarini tweeted.

The U.S. Mission to the United Nations released a statement ahead of the vote, calling the resolution “flawed” and “one-sided.”

“It bears noting that advisory opinions are exactly that: they are not binding. They are not a basis for legislature. Notwithstanding the fact that the ICJ’s ruling was factually baseless and devoid of judicial restraint, the General Assembly’s abuse of advisory opinions as a political tool makes a mockery of international law,” the U.S. Mission said.

The resolution is irrelevant in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20-point peace plan that was accepted by Arab and Muslim partner, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the U.S. Mission continued.

UNWRA “is completely penetrated because [it] operates under frameworks that treat Hamas like any other actor, and rejects any reasonable standards for accountability or vetting for its staff or partners,” the American delegation said.

“That this resolution would imply that Israel is in any way compelled to work with such an organization is simply wrong. The idea that any nation could be compelled by the General Assembly to work with any organization is a gross infringement on sovereignty. UNRWA is unaccountable, corrupt and irredeemably compromised. It will play absolutely no role going forward in Gaza.”

Tommy Piggot, the State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, said that the U.S. “refutes every effort to empower UNRWA and we stand with Israel in rejecting biased and false allegations at the U.N. We will continue to implement Resolution 2803 and pursue President Trump’s vision for a peaceful and prosperous Gaza.”

Speaking before the U.N. General Assembly, Danon said that the new resolution “does not advance peace [and] it does not reflect the reality we see on the ground.”

“We are done with UNRWA,” the Israeli ambassador vowed.