ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The UN on Tuesday condemned the passage of a law in the Israeli parliament that strips workers of the international organization's relief agency that deals with Palestinian refugees of diplomatic immunity, noting that the move is “part of an ongoing, systematic campaign” to discredit the agency and disrupt its activities.

The Knesset on Monday passed a law nullifying the diplomatic protections of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), allowing for legal action against the body, which has assisted refugees for over 70 years, in Israeli courts and prohibiting Israeli companies from supplying water, electricity, fuel, and communication services to the agency’s institutions.

The law also authorizes the expropriation by Israeli authorities of the two UNRWA offices in East Jerusalem, including the agency’s headquarters and its main vocational training center.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini dubbed the decision “outrageous,” asserting that “Israel is obliged to act within the UN framework and not take unilateral action contrary to its obligations under the UN Charter.”

“Despite Israel's obligations, these legislative steps have been accompanied by unilateral actions on the ground that show a repeated disregard for international law,” he continued, adding that the maneuver “is a direct affront to the mandate granted to the Agency by the UN General Assembly and contrary to findings of the International Court of Justice.” 

By revoking these protections, Tel Aviv is chipping away at the long‑standing principle of “inviolability” that traditionally legitimizes UN bodies. Under the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations — ratified by Israel in 1949 — UN agencies rely on diplomatic immunity and the inviolability of their premises as part of their role as neutral mediators. Their offices are considered inviolable and are supposed to be treated much like foreign embassies.

The humanitarian fallout is likely to be disastrous. Since October 2023, UNRWA has played a central role in the distribution of food, medicine, and aid to Gaza.

On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom issued a Joint Statement on the Gaza Humanitarian Response, voicing “serious concerns about the renewed deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza which remains catastrophic.”

The ministers called on the Government of Israel to “ensure that international NGOs are able to operate in Gaza in a sustained and predictable way.” They warned that, as 31 December approaches, “many established international NGO partners are at risk of being deregistered because of the Government of Israel’s restrictive new requirements,” a move that “could result in the forced closure of INGO operations within 60 days in Gaza and the West Bank.”

Such a scenario, they stressed, “would have a severe impact on access to essential services including healthcare,” noting that “one in 3 healthcare facilities in Gaza will close if INGOs operations are stopped.” The statement underscores that INGOs are “integral to the humanitarian response” and, working with the UN and Palestinian organizations, “collectively deliver approximately $1 billion in aid across Palestine each year.”

Against that backdrop, the ministers warned: “Any attempt to stem their ability to operate is unacceptable. Without them, it will be impossible to meet all urgent needs at the scale required.”

Last week, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) warned that Israel’s new registration rules for international non-governmental organizations “risk leaving hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza without lifesaving healthcare in 2026.” Under the changes, “the new requirements threaten to withdraw registration from INGOs beginning Jan. 1,” a move that “would prevent organizations, including MSF, from providing essential services to people in Gaza and the West Bank.”

With Gaza’s health system already “destroyed,” MSF stressed that “independent and experienced humanitarian organizations losing access to respond would be a disaster for Palestinians.” The organization called on Israeli authorities “to ensure INGOs can maintain and continue their impartial and independent response in Gaza,” warning that “the already restricted humanitarian response cannot be further dismantled.”

Israel had already clamped down on UNRWA last year, claiming, without evidence, that Hamas had substantially compromised its Gaza branch.

The law was passed the same day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met US President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida to discuss the backdrop of escalating regional turmoil, with Israel having engaged in recent military action in Palestine, Syria, and Lebanon, and the US leader's desire to progress the Gaza peace deal into its second phase.

Despite expectations, Trump and Netanyahu’s meeting did not produce any clear indications of tangible progress regarding the situation in Gaza or concrete advancement in the peace process.