Aussie minister’s stern message to Israel

Australia is among several allied countries calling on Israel to abandon legislation banning the United Nations’ (UN) main aid agency for Palestinian refugees, with Penny Wong saying the organisation “does life-saving work.”

Israel’s legislature passed two bills on Monday (local time), revoking a treaty agreed in 1967 to allow the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to operate in Israeli controlled territories.

The legislation passed despite opposition from Israel’s Western allies, including Australia.

“Australia opposes the Israeli Knesset’s decision to severely restrict UNRWA’s work,” Foreign Minister Wong said on Tuesday.

“On Sunday, Australia joined Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea and the UK to urge Israel’s Knesset not to proceed with this legislation.

“Australia again calls on Israel to comply with the binding orders of the (International Court of Justice) to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance at scale in Gaza.”

Assurances from some Israeli politicians that the ban would not affect UNRWA’s ability to operate in Gaza have done little to ease fears.

Independent monitors have been warning for months of an increasingly dire situation in Gaza, where some two million Palestinian displaced by the raging war between Israel and Hamas face famine and rampant disease.

Cabinet minister Bill Shorten also weighed in on Tuesday, telling the ABC “you’d have to ask Israel” why it was not heeding the calls from its allies.

“There’s a lot of Palestinian people who are not members of Hamas who are suffering,” Mr Shorten said.

“And we’ve got to make sure they’re getting food and aid.

“There are innocent civilians caught up in this, and they’ve got to get food and aid. There’s no way around that.”

UNRWA sparked controversy after Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel when a handful of staffers were accused of having ties to the Islamist militant group.

UNRWA has denied that it was representative of the organisation.

“I’m aware that some employees of UNRWA were connected to Hamas, but what you’ve got is hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians, and they’re the ones who are suffering and they’re the ones who we’ve got to prioritise,” Mr Shorten said.

“The international community’s got to put to Israel that you’ve got to look after the civilians and try and help them. It’s not their fault.”