With Alistair BunkallMiddle East correspondent in Jerusalem

Israel’s decision to ban the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from its territory and cut diplomatic ties with the organization could have a devastating impact on the millions of Palestinians who rely on the services provided.

Unless there is an intervention, the ban will come into force after 90 days. Last night’s vote in the Knesset (Israeli parliament) will also prevent Israel from issuing work permits to UNRWA staff and prevent Israeli officials from working with the agency, significantly complicating aid access to Gaza and the future of UNRWA schools and health institutions. Facilities in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Many of Israel’s closest allies, including the United States, Britain, France and Germany, had called on the Israeli government to reconsider, but they were ignored.

The UN secretary-general said it would have “devastating consequences” and the British prime minister said he was “gravely concerned”.

The US State Department warned that this could have consequences under US law; This means that if the ban is not reversed, Washington may reconsider arms transfers to Israel; U.S. law prevents the country from providing military aid to anyone who denies humanitarian access.

While Israel has said it will work to ensure aid reaches those who need it, no plan or alternative agency has been put forward and it will be difficult to replace the expertise that UNRWA has built over decades.

UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, was established in 1949 to support Palestinians displaced by the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

Today, it provides services such as education, healthcare, street cleaning, financial startup loans and accommodation to approximately six million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, East Jerusalem, the occupied West Bank, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.

Israel has long opposed the status of Palestinian refugees because, at least in theory, it gives them the “right of return,” meaning they retain property and land rights in modern-day Israel.

Since the October 7 attacks, the state of Israel has repeatedly and loudly accused UNRWA of being a front for Hamas; He claimed that the group used schools and hospitals to hide weapons and plan attacks.

Although nine UNRWA staff were dismissed by the UN for their links to Hamas, most of Israel’s allegations were made with little supporting evidence.

Some countries briefly suspended funding to the agency, but almost all later restored that funding.

Israel has prevented many of its staff, including the agency’s general commissioner, from entering Israel.