Israel’s parliament on Monday overwhelmingly approved bills banning any activity in Israel by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), sparking an international outcry.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated earlier today that there is no “alternative” to the service: it is “out of the blue”.

The implementation of the law, according to Mr. Guterres, would have “catastrophic consequences for Palestinian refugees in the occupied Palestinian territories, which is unacceptable.”

“There is no alternative to UNRWA,” he insisted, and implementing the laws approved by the Knesset “would be detrimental to the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and peace and security in the region as a whole. As I have said in the past, UNRWA is one of a kind.”

The UN Secretary General added that he will raise the issue at the General Assembly of the international organization.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East itself denounced the “scandalous” bill against it, as it is the most important actor in humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip, the besieged Palestinian enclave that has suffered disaster, after more than a year of war between Israel and Hamas.

Israel, for which the agency has long been a black sheep, has accused some UNRWA staff of taking part in the bloody attack launched against southern sectors of its territory by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7, 2023, triggering the ongoing war.

The text, which bans “UNRWA’s activities on Israeli territory,” including east Jerusalem, the sector of the holy city occupied by Israel in 1967 and later annexed, was approved by the Knesset by 92 votes to 10.

A second text, also approved by a large majority (89-7), prohibits Israeli public officials from working with UNRWA and its employees, which will greatly complicate the agency’s work, as Israel strictly controls all entry for humanitarian aid shipments bound for the Gaza Strip.

The two laws will take effect 90 days after their adoption, according to the Knesset.

UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini condemned the ban, which “sets a dangerous precedent” and would “exacerbate the plight of Palestinians”.

UNRWA, created by a decision of the UN General Assembly in 1949, mainly manages health centers in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Providing shelter, food and basic medical services, it is considered the “backbone” of international aid to the Gaza Strip, which has faced a humanitarian disaster.

If this ban is implemented, it will be “a disaster, especially because of the impact it will likely have on humanitarian operations in the Gaza Strip and in many areas of the West Bank,” agency spokeswoman Juliette Touma told AFP.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assures that Israel is “ready” to “work with (its) international partners” to continue to “facilitate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip in a way that will not threaten (its) security.”

Even before the vote, the US said it was “very concerned” and “urged the administration not to approve” the text, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, who reiterated UNRWA’s “critical” role in the Gaza Strip in terms of humanitarian aid.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, denounced the “intolerable” decision that will have “disastrous consequences”. “It goes against Israel’s obligations and responsibilities,” he added, underlining that UNRWA is “an irreplaceable lifeline for the Palestinian people.”

Britain’s prime minister said he was “seriously concerned”, while Germany “strongly criticized” this decision.

Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain, four countries that recognized the state of Palestine this year, “condemned” the new law in a joint statement, calling the work of UNRWA “necessary and irreplaceable”.

On the Palestinian side, Hamas denounced the “Zionist attack,” while its ally, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, denounced the “escalation into genocide” of Palestinians.

The presidency of the Palestinian Authority considered for its part that the text confirms “the transformation of Israel into a fascist state”.

The Security Council, with the vote of the US, Israel’s historic ally, had warned the Netanyahu government against this law.

“The State of Israel has the right and the duty, as a sovereign state fighting for its survival, to fight all threats, including those within itself,” Rep. Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, said after the vote. Defense of the Israeli Parliament.

Some of the biggest donors had suspended funding to UNRWA earlier this year after Israel accused about 20 of the agency’s 13,000 workers in the Gaza Strip of taking part in the October 7, 2023, raid by Hamas. Most of the donors however, they have since resumed supporting the service, with the notable exception of the largest: the US.

Nine agency workers “may have been involved” in the Hamas attack, according to a UN report released in August.

At least 223 UNRWA workers have lost their lives in the war in the Gaza Strip, which has lasted for more than a year.