JOHN Swinney has issued a statement after Israel passed laws banning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from working in Israel and in occupied Palestinian territory.
On Monday night, Israel’s parliament voted in favour of legislation that would strip the agency of legal immunities and restrict its ability to support Palestinians in the West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem and Gaza.
It will also severely block the organisation's ability to provide essential services such as healthcare and education to millions of Palestinian refugees.
Writing on Twitter/X, Swinney said: “@UNRWA has a direct mandate from the UN to provide humanitarian aid across Gaza & West Bank.
“Israel’s decision is another step to make life unliveable for Palestinians.
@UNRWA has a direct mandate from the UN to provide humanitarian aid across Gaza & West Bank. Israel's decision is another step to make life unliveable for Palestinians. Israel must stop blocking vital humanitarian aid from reaching wounded & starving Gazans.
— John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) October 29, 2024
“Israel must stop blocking vital humanitarian aid from reaching wounded & starving Gazans.”
Former first minister Humza Yousaf responded to the news, hitting out at Foreign Secretary David Lammy for the UK Government’s policy on arms sales.
On Monday evening, Lammy wrote on Twitter/X: "Today’s Israeli Knesset bills restricting @UNRWA are totally wrong.
"Alongside international partners, the UK has been clear Israel must ensure UNRWA can deliver aid at the speed and scale needed to address the humanitarian emergency in Gaza."
Yousaf shared the post, writing: "And yet, astonishingly, you still sell Israel weapons."
