The Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee unanimously passed a bill to classify the UN Refugee Agency (UNRWA) as a terrorist organization. The initiative, led by MK Yulia Malinovsky (Yisrael Beiteinu), will now proceed to the first reading in the Knesset plenary session.
"UNRWA's actions on October 7 and its longstanding associations with terrorist groups are inexcusable," Malinovsky stressed. "UNRWA can only be seen as a terrorist organization and should be immediately outlawed. Israel must cease all cooperation with UNRWA, revoke its tax benefits, and terminate all ties with the agency. An organization whose employees serve as social workers, doctors, and teachers by day, and terrorists by night, is unequivocally a terrorist entity."
During the initial vote on the bill, MP Mansour Abbas of Raam mistakenly voted "yes," sparking a lighthearted moment among parliamentarians and cheers from the right-wing representatives. His error drew an immediate protest from another Arab MP, Ahmad Tibi of Hadash Taal, who shouted, "Against, against!" Abbas quickly corrected his vote, prompting the speaker to note, "MP Abbas decided to vote against — I'm not sure why, but he decided to vote against."
