Australia Urges Israel to Re-Think Ban on UN Aid Agency

Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has urged the Israeli government to rescind it’s ban on aid agency UNRWA, saying humanitarian work must continue.

Displaced Palestinian people sit on benches as they wait outside a clinic of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Jan. 28, 2024. AFP via Getty Images

Australia is urging Israel to reconsider its recent banning of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), saying its “life saving work” needs to continue, and accused it of ignoring the International Court of Justice.

The vote in the Israeli Parliament passed 92-10 and followed a passionate debate between supporters of the law and its opponents, mostly members of Arab political parties.