Israel’s parliament passed bills that would ban UNRWA from operating in Israeli territory.
The Knesset vote was the culmination of a long-running campaign against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, known as UNRWA, which the Israeli government contends has been infiltrated by the militant group Hamas.
He spoke less than a day after the Knesset overwhelmingly approved two bills that would make it impossible for the agency, which has operated in those areas since 1949, to provide services to Palestinians.
This has deepened over the past year following Israeli accusations that a handful of UNRWA employees either participated in Hamas' October 7 attacks or held some of the hostages captive in Gaza.