U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew, as well as several of his European counterparts, have pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other key figures in the Knesset to drop two bills that would effectively shut down the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), even though some employees of the U.N. agency aiding Palestinians took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks.

Israel’s security cabinet discussed international opposition to the UNRWA bills on Sunday night, amid the diplomatic blitz.

Lew, as well as ambassadors from the U.K., E.U., Canada, Germany, Norway and other countries – one Knesset member said “almost all Western countries” – and Sigrid Kaag, the senior U.N. coordinator for humanitarian action and reconstruction in Gaza, have held meetings and phone calls with Netanyahu and other leaders of parties whose members sponsored the bills, Israeli lawmakers told Jewish Insider. 

Israeli political sources said that some ambassadors raised the possibility of consequences in the U.N. Security Council or the G7 if the bills become law.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Tony Blinken’s recent letter threatening U.S. military aid if Israel does not accelerate humanitarian aid to Gaza also states that the U.S. officials are “deeply concerned” about the bills banning UNRWA. 

“While we share your concerns about the serious allegations of certain UNRWA employees participating in the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks and Hamas misusing UNRWA facilities, enactment of such restrictions would devastate the Gaza humanitarian response at this critical moment…which could have implications under relevant U.S. law and policy,” they wrote. “We ask that you take all possible steps…to ensure this does not come to pass.”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres also wrote a letter to Netanyahu expressing his concern.

The bills in question are set to go to a final vote in the Knesset next Monday. One prohibits UNRWA from operating in sovereign Israeli territory – such as east Jerusalem, where UNRWA has offices – and the other prohibits any Israeli government agencies from having contact with UNRWA and requires the National Security Council to track its implementation. Both bills were co-sponsored by coalition and opposition lawmakers.

“We all witnessed UNRWA’s activities on Oct. 7… We know that some of the hostages were held by workers of the organization… UNRWA is out,” Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein, one target of the international pressure, said at the meeting earlier this month in which the bills were authorized for a final vote. 

UNRWA provides educational, medical and other services to descendants of Arab refugees of Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, applying a different definition of refugee than the U.N.’s main refugee agency, UNHCR. UNRWA operates in the West Bank and Gaza, where the bills would likely shut them down, as well as Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. 

According to intelligence presented to lawmakers working on the bills, over 25 UNRWA employees have been found to have taken part in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. UNRWA employees also held Israelis hostage in Gaza. Hamas has used UNRWA schools and other facilities to store weapons and launch rockets. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had an UNRWA teacher’s ID card on his person when he was killed last week.

Adi Schwartz, co-author of The War of Return, a book that argues that UNRWA is perpetuating the Israel-Palestinian conflict, told JI that the bills are “important because if they are implemented, UNRWA will be almost unable to function in Israel. It will paralyze UNRWA, which is exactly what needs to happen.”

Likud MK Dan Illouz, one of the sponsors of the bill to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization, told JI that there is “tremendous pressure.”

“I feel it’s misplaced, as UNRWA has become an arm for terror and part of perpetuating the refugee problem, but the pressure is real. I trust the prime minister will stand strong,” Illouz said.

MK Sharren Haskel of the New Hope party, led by Cabinet minister Gideon Sa’ar, told JI that she proposed similar legislation seven years ago, “but now there is an opportunity because UNRWA’s true face was exposed to all.” 

Haskel said her bill will “stop all coordination [between UNRWA and] the army, the water and electric companies. When you cut those things off, it’s very hard to operate. I hope it will collapse the organization.” 

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana or coalition Chairman Ofir Katz could block the bill from going to a vote at Netanyahu’s behest, but Illouz and Haskel both said they will not back down.

“There is crazy pressure but [bill co-sponsor Likud MK Boaz] Bismuth and I won’t give up,” Haskel said. “Representatives are constantly calling the ministers. This is on the international community’s agenda.”

A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Israel said that “as a matter of policy, we do not comment on private diplomatic conversations.”

“The involvement of UNRWA personnel on Oct 7 was reprehensible and led the US to halt funding. We have called for those involved to be held accountable and for UNRWA reforms to address serious concerns about its facilities and personnel being involved in terrorist activities,” he said.

“At the same time,” the spokesperson added, “UNRWA provides vital services in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Jordan — including humanitarian assistance, health benefits care and sanitation. Pending legislation would make it impossible for UNRWA to operate and would leave a vacuum that Israel would then be responsible for filling. Adding to the humanitarian crisis that already exists would undermine stability and security for Israel and the region.”

The German Embassy in Israel said that “the ongoing legislative initiatives in the Knesset against UNRWA are extremely worrying to the German government. The Ambassador has communicated our position to the Israeli side on several occasions…With the second winter of war approaching for the suffering civilian population in Gaza, the implementation of these draft laws would have devastating consequences in terms of humanitarian aid which relies heavily on UNRWA’s structures and personnel.”

An EU official noted to JI that the European Council released a unanimous statement of support for UNRWA from all 27 EU member states earlier this month, and its foreign envoy Josep Borrell warned of “catastrophic consequences” if the bill passes. He also said that “the draft bill appears to run counter Israel’s legal obligations under: the UN Charter” and other international legal documents and conventions.

Schwartz argued that Israel must insist that UNRWA be kept out of Gaza in any day-after scenario for the war. 

He accused the U.S. of “lengthening the conflict. They think that this is an international aid agency, but UNRWA first and foremost perpetuates the conflict.”

Palestinian leaders “have said clearly that UNRWA means the right of return” — by which millions of Palestinians would be able to reside in all parts of Israel — “so is the administration in favor of the right of return and the destruction of the State of Israel? That is the meaning of UNRWA.”