weekly report -04/11
Israel bans United Nations aid agency UNRWA
On October 28, the Israeli government adopted unprecedented legislation that cripples the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza, West Bank and East Jerusalem. Amnesty International stated that the ban effectively criminalizes humanitarian aid to Palestinians and severely limits access to food, medical assistance, and shelter for millions. According to Le Monde and the Times of Israel, the Knesset passed the bills almost unanimously, citing claims of UNRWA connections to Hamas: Member of the Knesset Dan Illouz, a co-sponsor of one of the bills, asserted that Israel’s “goal is not to stop the humanitarian aid” but “to go through channels that are not pro-terror, pro-Hamas”. However, according to UN News, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has stated that “there is no alternative to UNRWA”. On November 4, Al Jazeera reported that Israel formally notified the UN of its decision to cut ties with UNRWA. According to the Times of Israel, UN Secretary-General’s chef de cabinet, Courtenay Rattray stated that “it is not our responsibility to replace UNRWA, nor do we have the capacity to do so.” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric added that “it would be the responsibility of the Israeli authorities to replace the services that it delivers to civilians, in education, in health, and all sorts of other areas”. According to Al Jazeera, on November 6 UNRWA called on the United Nations to prevent the ban of UNRWA, with the agency’s commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini emphasizing that “without intervention by member states, UNRWA will collapse, plunging millions of Palestinians into chaos.”
Sources: Le Monde, Amnesty International, UN News, Al Jazeera, Times of Israel
Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley under Israeli strikes
Amid escalating regional tensions, Israel has conducted a series of air strikes in Lebanon targeting locations in the Bekaa Valley, near the ancient city of Baalbek, in the past two weeks. On October 29, the strikes killed at least 60 people, as per the Lebanese health ministry cited by the BBC. District governor Bachir Khodor stated that 67 people were killed and more than 120 wounded, noting that “this is the most violent day for Baalbek in the last year," Khodor told Reuters. Strikes on the Baalbek region continued in the following couple of days, killing at least six health care workers on October 31, according to Al Jazeera. On November 3, Israel addressed residents of Baalbek and nearby village Douris, calling for the evacuation of the area. The Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on X that residents “are currently located near the facilities and assets associated with Hezbollah, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will be targeting in the near future”, as cited by Al Arabiya. This showcased the IDF’s accusations of Hezbollah “systematically using civilian infrastructure and areas for military activities”, as stated by the BBC, which the group has denied. According to Beirut Urban Lab, a research studio at the American University of Beirut cited by Al Jazeera, Israel’s evacuation orders “are far from acting as a genuine call to protect civilians” but rather a “part of Israel’s strategy to manufacture consent for the incoming strikes… by claiming the presence of a so-called ‘terrorist’ threat.” In contrast, the Times of Israel frequently cites the IDF’s evacuation orders that urge evacuation for “your safety” and “your own protection”. The strikes on the Bekaa Valley continue, with at least 40 reported dead on November 6 and most recent attacks reported on November 10. These events have also raised global concern over the state of Baalbek’s Roman ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage site. A UNESCO committee announced an extraordinary meeting on November 18 to consider ‘enhanced protection’ status for the archeological site, according to the Arab Weekly.
Sources: BBC, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, NNA, Times of Israel, Arab Weekly
Iranian woman’s protest draws international attention
On November 2, videos of a young Iranian woman’s public act, apparently in protest against the mandatory dress code imposed on Iranian women, began circulating the internet. The student, whose identity remains unconfirmed, “removed her clothes in protest against abusive enforcement of compulsory veiling” and was “violently arrested… by security officials at Tehran's Islamic Azad University”, as per Amnesty International Iran on X, cited by Iran International. In contrast, The Guardian cited conservative Iranian media FARS that described the guards’ to have talked “calmly” with the student and denied aggressive behavior. According to Le Monde, footage published on social media shows the woman being bundled into a car by men and driven off. Iran International later cited the student social media channel the Amir Kabir newsletter, according to which the student was transferred to a psychiatric hospital under the IRGC’s orders. The Iranian news outlet also noted that human rights advocates and Iranian psychology associations have criticized “the government’s misuse of psychiatry as a tool for silencing dissidents” on several occasions. The arrest of the student has sparked domestic and international concern, with the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Mai Sato, writing on X that she would be “monitoring this incident closely, including the authorities' response”, as per the BBC. Narges Mohammadi, an Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate who is currently imprisoned in Iran, expressed her grave concern about the case and stated that the student “turned her body - long weaponized as a tool of repression - into a symbol of dissent.” The protest came against the backdrop of continuous civil discontent over women’s rights in Iran, sparked by the arrest and death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.
Sources: Iran International, The Guardian, BBC, Le Monde, France24
