Malta among seven nations to condemn Israeli law targeting UN facilities

Malta is among seven countries condemning recent Israeli legislation cutting water, power and communications to facilities run by the UN Palestinian refugee agency, saying Israel’s actions violate international law.

In a joint statement, Malta, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain said the law passed two weeks ago, cutting utilities to facilities run by the agency, undermines the UN mandate.

Malta and its counterparts said the move risked grave humanitarian consequences for the Palestinian civilian population and refugees while calling on Israel to allow international NGOs to operate in Gaza amid the recent deregistration of 37 humanitarian organisations.

The seven countries said the UN agency was essential to confront the catastrophic humanitarian situation and to deliver life-saving assistance and essential services to the civilian population in Gaza, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the wider region.

“We underline the obligation to ensure full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and to enable the continued functioning of UN humanitarian operations and their partners,” the group said, describing respect for UN immunity and humanitarian law as “imperative”.

Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed the bill blocking water and electricity from being supplied to facilities operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on December 29.

The law also blocks the provision of communications and financial services to the agency.

The recent legislation is an update to two bills passed in late 2024 banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and restricting its operations in Gaza and the West Bank while banning state authorities from having contact with the agency, The Times of Israel noted.

Provisons of utilities considered 'contact'

Provision of utilities is now considered ‘contact’ under the new law, the outlet reported, while noting the legislation also allows Israel to seize Jerusalem properties leased by UNRWA “without the need to initiate legal or administrative proceedings”.

The move follows Israel’s revocation of the licences for 37 aid groups working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including well-known organisations Doctors Without Borders, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Caritas Internationalis at the start of this year.

The NGOs now face a total ban on humanitarian operations in the regions from March 1, with Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism saying the organisations had “failed to meet required security and transparency standards”.

Israel has accused UNRWA of complicity in the 2023 terror attacks on the country, alleging that around one in 10 of UNRWA employees have links to terrorist organisations, a claim the agency has strongly rejected.

Israel’s new law comes amid a fragile ceasefire in Gaza following two years of an intensive Israeli military operation in the Palestinian enclave in response to the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023.

In an interview with Times of Malta last June, director of UNRWA affairs in the occupied West Bank Roland Friedrich said he hoped Malta continues to be a strong advocate for UNRWA within the EU and other parts of the region while urging it to pressure Israel to respect international law.

In a social media post on Friday, Friedrich highlighted the case of UNRWA’s vocational Kalandia Training Centre in East Jerusalem, which he warned may have to close under the new law due to the “expropriation” of the site by Israeli authorities.