World
What does UNRWA do and why has Israel banned it from West Bank, Gaza?
The Israeli Knesset has passed a bill banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and another that will likely scale back aid distribution across war-ravaged Gaza.
UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) supports Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, as well as surrounding countries.
The Knesset passed the laws on Monday despite strong international condemnation.
So what are in the bills and what activities is UNRWA responsible for in the Palestinian territory?
What will the bills do?
One bill makes it illegal for Israeli officials to have any contact with UNRWA. The second prohibits UNRWA from conducting activities within Israel’s borders – a rule that will come into effect in three months.
This will make it impossible for the agency to obtain any entrance permits to operate in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip – both of which are under Israeli control.
It will also make it impossible for the agency to transport assistance through Israeli territory to Palestinians in need.
Why is Israel passing these bills?
This is not the first time UNRWA has come under pressure from Israeli authorities.
In January, Israeli authorities accused UN workers of participating in the October 7, 2023, attacks on southern Israel. This resulted in countries cutting funding to UNRWA, including Australia, Austria, Britain, Canada, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Romania, Switzerland and the United States.
After a UN oversight body investigated UNRWA staff involvement in the attacks, nine UNRWA staff members were fired in August.
At the time, UN spokesperson Farhan Haq stated: “We have sufficient information … to take the actions that we’re taking – which is to say, the termination of these nine individuals.”
Most countries have since restored funding to UNRWA.
What is UNRWA?
UNRWA is the main humanitarian organisation in Gaza and the West Bank and also operates in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
It was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 after the 1948 Nakba to protect and assist Palestinians ethnically cleansed from their homes.
It became operational on May 1, 1950, and since then has helped generations of refugees, many of whom still live in camps.
It provides education, healthcare, social services and emergency relief to people living in refugee camps in the Palestinian territory, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
How many people does it serve?
In the past 70 years, roughly six million Palestinians have relied on UNRWA’s support.
According to UNRWA’s website: “In 2021, almost 545,000 children were enrolled in UNRWA schools (2021-2022 school year); Social Safety Net Programme assistance reached 398,044 beneficiaries; and 1.7 million received life-saving humanitarian assistance.”
What services does it offer Palestinians?
UNRWA delivers crucial humanitarian aid and protection to millions of registered Palestinian refugees.
Aside from emergency relief and year-round assistance that the impoverished population needs to survive, UNRWA offers primary healthcare and mental health support.
Its services also include schools where more than half a million children were studying before Israel launched its war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
Among the projects it oversees, UNRWA also tries to provide employment opportunities, microfinance programmes and support to Palestinians who want to develop income-generating initiatives
Many UNRWA operations are in Palestinian refugee camps, but it does not build, own or operate any camps, and it provides humanitarian services both in and outside camps, to any Palestinian in need.
What healthcare facilities does UNRWA oversee?
UNRWA clinics see about 8.5 million patient visits a year to 144 healthcare centres.
It also employs more than 3,300 healthcare staff, which makes it a significant employer in the Palestinian health sector.
What other social services does UNRWA provide?
UNRWA’s social services programmes include schemes from helping women enter the workforce to supporting people with disabilities.
It runs several skills training programmes, both vocational and professional.
Much in the same vein of its employment of Palestinians in the healthcare sector, UNRWA itself provides employment opportunities to the Palestinians who staff its centres, which offer things from training women in traditional crafts, sewing, knitting and embroidery to physical rehabilitation centres for injured Palestinians or Palestinians living with a disability.
Iranians mourning the country’s supreme leader condemned U.S. strikes that Washington called retaliation for Iran’s attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. At a tightly controlled state funeral in Mashhad — one of Iran’s most conservative cities, where opponents of the government were unlikely to be found in the crowd — mourners voiced defiance and called for revenge.
World
Beloved musicians among victims in deadly Bahamas plane crash; aviation authority grounds flights
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A devastating double-aviation crisis in the Bahamas, including a deadly North Andros plane crash and a separate aircraft fire on Friday, prompted the government to suspend flight operations for a local airline and launch a federal safety probe.
Shortly after 1 p.m. local time Friday, a Cessna 402 aircraft with Bahamian registration departed Lynden Pindling International Airport in Nassau bound for San Andros Airport.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority (AAIA) said the plane “encountered difficulties” and crashed into bushes prior to landing.
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Authorities said 10 people were killed in a Bahamas plane crash on Friday. (Our News Bahamas via AP)
First responders, including the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Airport Authority and emergency medical personnel, rushed to the dense brush where the aircraft went down.
The Bahamas Musicians and Entertainers Union confirmed in a statement Saturday that 10 people died in the crash, including prominent members of the “The Pond Band” and a local DJ, whose artistry the union said “touched so many lives and helped to enrich the cultural fabric of The Bahamas.”
Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis said a sole survivor was pulled from the wreckage.
“Ann and I are praying for the families who are now facing unbearable grief,” Davis wrote in a statement on X. “We are also praying for the survivor, whose recovery and care will remain in our thoughts.”
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The identities of those killed in the crash have not yet been released.
While the AAIA’s preliminary reports initially indicated seven people were on board, officials are still establishing the facts of the flight manifest.
Just hours before the fatal crash in North Andros, a Flamingo Air flight en route to Mayaguana was forced to turn back to Nassau after the pilot reported a concern, according to the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Aviation (MoET).
After the aircraft landed and passengers safely deplaned, the plane caught fire on the runway.
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FILE – The Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate following two aircraft incidents Friday. (iStock)
Following the two back-to-back safety incidents, the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas (CAAB) temporarily suspended Flamingo Air’s Air Operator Certificate, according to MoET officials.
“The suspension is a precautionary safety measure and should not be treated as an adverse compliance action against Flamingo Air,” the agency wrote in a statement.
FILE – The plane crashed in North Andros on Friday after taking off from Lynden Pindling International Airport. (Melissa Alcena/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Investigators from the AAIA and inspectors from the CAAB remain at the scene in North Andros as they work to determine what caused the Cessna 402 tragedy.
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Flamingo Air did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Published on •Updated
Moldova’s pro-European President Maia Sandu nominated businessman Vasile Tofan on Saturday as the country’s next prime minister to replace Alexandru Munteanu, who resigned earlier this month over differences with the ruling majority.
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In a video posted to social media, Sandu said Tofan’s primary responsibility, after his candidacy is approved by the country’s parliament, would be to move the country further towards its path of “integration” into the European Union.
He should also “strengthen the resilience of state institutions and society”, and “revive the economy”, added Sandu.
The Moldovan businessman now has two weeks to secure parliamentary backing, a prospect he hopes to achieve after submitting his government programme and his ministerial cabinet nominations.
Tofan had been mentioned as a possible prime minister last year even before the appointment of Munteanu.
Igor Grosu, who heads Sandu’s Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) which won the last parliamentary elections in September, announced on Friday that he had selected him as his candidate to replace the outgoing premier.
He said Tofan shared “the same objectives” as him and PAS, specifying that “EU accession in the years to come, institutional reform and economic growth”, were among the biggest points of agreement.
The nominee for prime minister, who graduated Harvard Business School and turns 44 on Sunday, has a degree in public management from the Netherlands and is a managing partner at Horizon Capital, a private equity firm with assets primarily in Ukraine and Moldova.
He has also chaired the board of directors of Moldova’s Purcari winery, considered the crown jewel of the country’s winemaking sector.
Munteanu, another businessman who like Sandu previously worked at the World Bank, had been chosen to boost the economy and bring it closer to the EU, but turbulence with PAS saw him vacate his post less than a year into holding office.
He resigned on 3 July after less than eight months, stating that he could no longer carry out his mandate “according to (his) principles and (his) convictions”.
The EU last month officially launched a first round of accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. Both countries became official EU candidate countries on 23 June 2022.
Additional sources • AFP
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