International aid agencies and Arab nations have slammed the Israeli Parliament for giving preliminary approval for a bill labeling the United Nations agency serving Palestinian refugees as a "terrorist organization" — a move that will exacerbate the already dire conditions of humanitarian and other essential workers in Gaza.

According to the Knesset website, the Knesset Plenum voted to approve on first reading the bill for "Cutting Off the State of Israel's Relations with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and Declaring it a Terrorist Organization, 2024".

The bill proposed that the State of Israel "sever its relations with UNRWA, both directly and indirectly", and also strip off its personnel's immunity and privileges.

Another bill proposes to prohibit the UNRWA from operating any mission, providing any service or conducting any activity within Israel's sovereign territory, accusing the agency of working in collaboration with Palestinian militant group Hamas for the "cruel massacre" that took place in Israel on Oct 7.

The bills will be returned to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for deliberation as two more readings are required for them to become effective.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the Palestinian territories, said on her X account that Israel's "disrespect and abuses against the UN" should have been addressed long ago. She said it had "gone too far" and called for unseating Israel at the UN.

Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sufyan Qudah slammed the Israeli decision as an "attempt to kill the agency, assassinate it politically" and target its symbolism, which affirms the right of Palestinian refugees to return and get compensation under international law.

'Premeditated hostility'

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of Palestine said the Israeli Knesset's classification of the UNRWA as a "terrorist organization" is a "premeditated hostility that aims to dissolve the Palestine refugee issue and a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2730 (2024)". The ministry also described the latest development as part of a "systemic incitement campaign" carried out by Israel.

A case in point, highlighted by UNRWA personnel, was the targeting of a UN aid convoy by the Israeli Defense Forces.

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of UNRWA, said on his X account that a UN vehicle received "at least five bullets while waiting just ahead of the Israeli Forces' checkpoint south of Wadi Gaza" on Sunday.

Like all other similar UN movements, he said this one "was coordinated and approved by the Israeli authorities", adding that those responsible "must be held accountable".

In February, Israeli forces said they had discovered a tunnel network hundreds of meters long and running partly under the UNRWA's Gaza headquarters. The Israelis said the network was new evidence of Hamas' exploitation of the aid agency for Palestinians. Israel had also accused some UN staff members of involvement in the Oct 7 attack.

The allegations prompted several countries to halt funding to the UNRWA earlier this year. But a UN-backed independent review found that Israel had not provided credible evidence for its claims, and most donors, like Japan, Germany, Italy, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom, have since reinstated funding.

Arie Afriansyah, associate professor at the Faculty of Law at Universitas Indonesia, told China Daily that Israel's policy to categorize the UNRWA as a terrorist organization is "highly unusual in the context of international law".

He said Israel's policy could endanger UNRWA's humanitarian workers. By labeling the UNRWA a terrorist organization, Israel "could effectively legitimize actions against its workers, making them targets for arrest, harassment, or worse".