The gravity of Israel’s ban on UNRWA

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, was this week ordered to stop its operations in occupied East Jerusalem, three months after Israel’s parliament voted to ban it. UNRWA is the main provider of humanitarian aid and other public services for Palestinians. In East Jerusalem, it runs 12 facilities that provide critical public services, including schools where more than 1,200 children are enrolled and free clinics that serve more than 70,000 people. The impact of the ban would extend across the West Bank as well, where the organisation offers primary healthcare services and 47,000 children go to UNRWA schools.