The Israeli Knesset (parliament) approved in the first reading three bills classifying the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) as a terrorist organization, which Hamas described as an invalid measure, and the Palestine Liberation Organization considered it a disregard for the international community and its international organizations.

The new bills approved by the Knesset on Thursday evening declare UNRWA a terrorist organization, ban its operations in Israel and strip its employees of their immunity.

The first bill, which prevents the agency from operating in Israeli territory, passed by a majority of 58 votes (out of 120 in the Knesset) to 9 votes, according to Israeli media.

The second resolution, which aims to strip UNRWA staff of the legal immunities and privileges granted to UN staff in Israel, was approved by a majority of 63 votes to 9 votes.

The third resolution, which classifies UNRWA as a terrorist organization and calls on Israel to sever relations with it, was passed with 50 votes in favor and 10 against, according to the same source.

The three bills will be returned to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to prepare for the second and third readings required for the legislation to become law.

Yisrael Beiteinu MK Julia Malinovsky, who introduced the bill, welcomed the vote. In a post on the X platform, she said that not a day goes by without the IDF Spokesperson publishing new findings from the field linking UNRWA to terrorism.

Wide Palestinian rejection

In Palestinian reactions, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) confirmed its rejection of the Knesset’s classification of UNRWA as a terrorist organization, and considered this measure invalid, illegal, and issued by an occupying authority that seeks to end the Palestinian cause, foremost among which is the issue of refugees and their right to return to their homes.

The movement stressed in a press statement today, Monday, that the international community and the United Nations in particular, "are required to take firm positions against this rogue Zionist entity that does not stop disdaining the international system and violating all international laws and norms."

She called for working to "protect UNRWA from the occupation's attempts to liquidate it, as it is the living international witness to the cause of our people and their right to care until return."

The Islamic Jihad Movement also considered that "the Knesset's approval of the classification of UNRWA as a terrorist organization portends a war of starvation against Palestinian refugees."

In turn, the Palestine Liberation Organization considered Israel's classification of UNRWA as a terrorist organization as a disregard for the international community and its UN organizations, calling for a response by supporting the organization politically and financially.

The Secretary-General of the organization, Hussein Al-Sheikh, said on the X platform that the Israeli occupation is the most heinous form of terrorism practiced daily against the Palestinian people.

He stressed that the Knesset's decision regarding an international humanitarian organization must be met with an international position that supports this organization politically, financially and morally, so that it can continue its humanitarian and moral role towards a people who are victims of the Israeli occupation.

On May 26, the Knesset voted in a preliminary reading on a bill to sever ties with UNRWA and declare it a terrorist organization, coinciding with the withdrawal of most Western countries from cutting funding to the agency after Tel Aviv failed to prove its allegations that its employees participated in the events of October 7.

Israel accuses UNRWA employees of contributing to the October 7 Al-Aqsa Intifada attacks, and that the agency's education system supports terrorism and hatred.

UNRWA, which is headquartered in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, denies Israel's accusations, insisting it is neutral and focused solely on supporting refugees.

The Palestinians' need for UNRWA services is growing in light of the devastating war that Israel has been waging on Gaza since October 7, which has left more than 128,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that has claimed the lives of dozens of children.