Summary
Two distinct Knesset bills in one file, each in an unofficial Adalah translation from the Hebrew, each headed as a bill for second reading and third reading and dated 15/01/2024 as printed: the Bill for the Cessation of UNRWA Activities, 5784–2024 (PDF p.1), which would expire UNRWA’s invitation under the 14 June 1967 exchange of letters on 7 October 2024, bar all contact between state authorities and UNRWA or its representatives, preserve criminal proceedings against UNRWA employees including in relation to the events of 7 October 2023 and under the Counter-Terrorism Law, 5776-2016, and take effect three months from publication with section 1 effective on 7 October 2024 or publication, whichever is later; and the Bill for the Cessation of UNRWA Activities in the Territory of the State of Israel, 5784–2024 (PDF p.2), whose stated purpose is to prevent any UNRWA activity within the territory of the State of Israel and which would bar UNRWA from operating any representation, providing any services or conducting any activities, directly or indirectly, within the sovereign territory of the State of Israel, taking effect three months from publication; both bills require the head of the National Security Council to report on implementation to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee every six months, and every two months in the first year (Bill for the Cessation of UNRWA Activities, 5784–2024 (and Bill for the Cessation of UNRWA Activities in the Territory of the State of Israel, 5784–2024), PDF p.1-2).
What the file is
One 2-page file containing two separate bills, one per page, not one bill in two parts: each page carries its own header (“15/01/2024”, “Bill for second reading and third reading.”, “Unofficial translation from the original Hebrew by Adalah, available here.”), its own bill title, its own numbered sections and its own commencement and reporting sections. The first bill has five sections and two footnotes; the second has four sections and no footnotes. Neither bill is presented in the file as enacted: no passage date, signatories, publication data or Book of Laws citation for either bill appears, and both speak throughout of commencement from a future date of publication. The frontmatter therefore dates the file to 2024, the year in both bill titles and in the printed header, and gives no day or month as the bills’ date. The text copy was checked against the original at PDF p.1-2 and reads the same. No Hebrew text, table or figure appears.
Section by section
- First bill, section 1, Termination of the exchange of letters between Israel and UNRWA (PDF p.1). (a) UNRWA’s invitation, based on the exchange of letters between Israel and UNRWA dated 6 Sivan 5727 (14 June 1967), shall expire on 5 Tishrei 5785 (7 October 2024). (b) The Minister of Foreign Affairs shall notify the United Nations of the expiration under subsection (a) within seven days of its passage in the Knesset. Footnote 1: Treaties No. 22, p. 411 (entered into force on June 14, 1967).
- First bill, section 2, Non-contact with UNRWA (PDF p.1). Authorities of the state, including entities and individuals holding public positions by law, shall not maintain any contact with UNRWA or with its representatives.
- First bill, section 3, Retention of laws (PDF p.1). Nothing in this law shall supersede any criminal proceedings against UNRWA employees, including in relation to the events of 7 October 2023 or the “Iron Swords” War, or any other criminal proceedings under the provisions of the Counter-Terrorism Law, 5776-2016, or the exercise of powers against them within the framework of such proceedings. Footnote 2: Book of Laws 5776, p. 898.
- First bill, section 4, Commencement (PDF p.1). The commencement of this law shall be three months from the date of its publication; however, the commencement of Section 1 shall be on 5 Tishrei 5785 (7 October 2024) or on the date of publication of this law, whichever is later.
- First bill, section 5, Reporting to the Knesset (PDF p.1). The head of the National Security Council or his representative shall report to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee once every six months, and during the first year from the commencement of this law, once every two months, on the implementation of the provisions of this law.
- Second bill, section 1, Purpose (PDF p.2). The purpose of this law is to prevent any activity of UNRWA within the territory of the State of Israel.
- Second bill, section 2, Prohibition of activities in the territory of the State of Israel (PDF p.2). UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) shall not operate any representation, provide any services, or conduct any activities, directly or indirectly, within the sovereign territory of the State of Israel.
- Second bill, section 3, Commencement (PDF p.2). The commencement of this law shall be three months from the date of its publication.
- Second bill, section 4, Reporting to the Knesset (PDF p.2). The head of the National Security Council or his representative shall report to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee once every six months, and during the first year from the commencement of this law, once every two months, on the implementation of the provisions of this law.
Key passages
- “shall expire on 5 Tishrei 5785 (7 October 2024)” (first bill, section 1(a), PDF p.1)
- “shall not maintain any contact with UNRWA or with its representatives” (first bill, section 2, PDF p.1)
- “The purpose of this law is to prevent any activity of UNRWA within the territory of the State of Israel” (second bill, section 1, PDF p.2)
- “shall not operate any representation, provide any services, or conduct any activities, directly or indirectly, within the sovereign territory of the State of Israel” (second bill, section 2, PDF p.2)
Evidence the work relies on
Bills, not evidentiary works. The first bill’s authorities are the exchange of letters between Israel and UNRWA of 14 June 1967, cited at footnote 1 as Treaties No. 22, p. 411, and the Counter-Terrorism Law, 5776-2016, cited at footnote 2 as Book of Laws 5776, p. 898; neither text is reproduced in the file. The second bill cites no authority and names UNRWA by its full name, United Nations Relief and Works Agency, in its section 2. No figures, testimony or findings appear in either bill; the first bill’s section 3 refers to the events of 7 October 2023 and the “Iron Swords” War as matters for criminal proceedings it preserves, without stating any finding about them.
Analysis
The two bills work on different objects and are kept distinct on this page and on their law pages. The first is relational and general: it terminates the 1967 invitation on which UNRWA’s presence rests, forbids any contact by state authorities, entities and public office-holders with UNRWA or its representatives without territorial limit in its text, and expressly preserves criminal proceedings and Counter-Terrorism Law powers against UNRWA employees; its section 1 is made effective on a fixed date, 7 October 2024, or publication if later, while the rest of the bill waits three months from publication. The second is territorial and narrower in reach but absolute within its reach: a stated purpose to prevent any UNRWA activity within the territory of the State of Israel, and a bar on any representation, services or activities, directly or indirectly, within the sovereign territory of the State of Israel, with no non-contact clause, no criminal-proceedings clause and no fixed-date section. Both are drafts for second and third reading in the form filed, with identical reporting duties; the file does not state that either was passed, in this or any amended form, and does not give the text of any enacted law.
People, organizations, places and events
Bill for the Cessation of UNRWA Activities, 5784–2024, Bill for the Cessation of UNRWA Activities in the Territory of the State of Israel, 5784–2024, UNRWA, Knesset, Israel, Counter-Terrorism Law, 5776-2016
Concepts
No concept page is drawn on for these bills; their terms are carried on the two law pages and on UNRWA.
How it relates to other sources
These bills are the earliest texts in the wiki of the legislative line that later sources record as enacted: Resolution ES-10/25: Support for the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (11 December 2024) deplores the Knesset legislation of 28 October 2024, Resolution 79/232: Request for an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the obligations of Israel in relation to the presence and activities of the United Nations, other international organizations and third States (19 December 2024) was prompted by the Secretary-General’s letters on developments that could prevent the Agency from continuing its essential work, and Resolution 80/116: Advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Obligations of Israel in relation to the presence and activities of the United Nations, other international organizations and third States (12 December 2025) affirms the Court’s finding that the Agency is an indispensable provider whose relief Israel must facilitate and not impede — all held on UNRWA. This file does not identify itself with the 28 October 2024 legislation: it is headed as bills for second and third reading, dated as printed 15/01/2024, and contains no enacted text, so the relationship between these drafts and the legislation the resolutions deplore is recorded under Open questions, not asserted. Against the Agency’s constituting text, Resolution 302 (IV): Assistance to Palestine refugees, the first bill’s mechanism is not repeal of the Agency’s mandate, which the bill does not address, but expiry of the 1967 invitation and a contact ban. Its section 3 preservation works through The Counter-Terrorism Law, 5776-2016, the statute ingested in full in the preceding unit.
Open questions
- Both pages are headed “15/01/2024” as printed, a date before the 7 October 2024 expiry date the first bill sets and before any publication date its commencement sections contemplate; the file does not explain the header date, whether it is the bills’ drafting date, a translation date or a filing date, and no date within 2024 is asserted for the bills beyond the year in their titles.
- The file does not state whether either bill was passed, amended or enacted, or how either relates in text to the Knesset legislation of 28 October 2024 that Resolution ES-10/25 deplores; the enacted texts are not in the wiki.
- The first bill bars contact with UNRWA without territorial qualification and terminates the 1967 invitation, while the second bars activity only within the sovereign territory of the State of Israel; the file does not state how the two bills were intended to operate together, or whether both were to be enacted.
- UNRWA is expanded as United Nations Relief and Works Agency only in the second bill’s section 2; the first bill uses the acronym alone, and neither bill gives the Agency’s full formal name as in Resolution 302 (IV), United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Coverage
PDF p.1-2 of 2, read in full.