![The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) building and its surroundings become a shelter for families coming from the north as Israeli attacks on Gaza Strip continue in Gaza City, Gaza on March 25, 2025. [Hamza Z. H. Qraiqea - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/image-14.png?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
The Israeli parliament (the Knesset) on Monday approved a law banning the supply of electricity and water to facilities owned by, or operated on behalf of, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The bill passed by 59 votes to seven.
The legislation, backed by the Israeli government, requires electricity and water providers to withhold or cut services to UNRWA facilities. It also bans the provision of telecommunications, banking, and other financial services to the agency.
UNRWA provides education, healthcare, and humanitarian assistance to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
The move amends two bills approved by the Knesset in October 2024. Those measures ban UNRWA from operating in territories occupied by Israel since 1948 and restrict its activities in Gaza and the West Bank by prohibiting any contact between Israeli authorities and the agency.
The legislation also allows Israeli authorities to seize properties rented to UNRWA by the Israeli state and used as agency offices, without the need to initiate legal or administrative procedures.
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