Israeli Energy Minister announces cutting off electricity and water to UNRWA offices

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen announced on Tuesday that electricity and water would be cut off to the offices of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Israel.

Under the title "Turn off the lights at UNRWA," Cohen posted on the X platform: "A law has been issued to cut off electricity and water to UNRWA offices, which will lead to the cessation of the agency's activities in Israel."

Cohen claimed that UNRWA "served as an executive arm of Hamas," and said, "An organization that serves as an incubator for incitement and murder has no right to exist."

At the end of last January, Israel's decision to ban UNRWA came into effect.

The agency was forced to evacuate its main headquarters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, while Israel decided to close six of its schools in East Jerusalem.

On October 28, 2024, the Knesset finally approved, by a large majority, two laws prohibiting UNRWA from carrying out any activities inside Israel, revoking its privileges and facilities, and prohibiting any official contact with it.

Israel claims that UNRWA employees participated in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, a claim the agency denies. The United Nations affirms UNRWA's commitment to neutrality, insists on continuing its work, and rejects the Israeli ban.

The Palestinians' need for UNRWA, the world's largest international humanitarian organization, has grown exponentially under the weight of Israel's genocidal war waged against the Gaza Strip, with US support.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with US support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international appeals and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt it.

The genocide, backed by the United States, left more than 197,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands were displaced, and a famine claimed the lives of many, including dozens of children.