JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that Israel's proposed ban on United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) would have devastating consequences for Palestinian refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The parliament of Israel on Monday passed two laws barring the UN's Palestinian refugee agency from operating in Israel and annexed East Jerusalem.
The laws will come into effect within three months.
If implemented, it would likely prevent the UNRWA for Palestine Refugees in the Near East from continuing its essential work in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, as mandated by the UN General Assembly, according to the UN chief.
Terming the passage of the law as unacceptable, Guterres called on Israel to act consistently with its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations and its other obligations under international law, including under international humanitarian law and those concerning privileges and immunities of the United Nations.
He reiterated that the implementation of these laws would be detrimental for the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for peace and security in the Middle East region as a whole.
Guterres said UNRWA is indispensable and there is no alternative to the UN refugee agency, which is the principal means by which essential assistance is supplied to Palestine refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Israel's western allies, including the United States, have condemned the Israeli legislation.
'We continue to urge the government of Israel to pause the implementation of this legislation. We urge them not to pass it at all,' US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
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