Unrwa slams Israel's pending ban as 'unacceptable'

The  UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, slammed on Monday Israel's move to ban the organisation from operating in occupied East Jerusalem. 

The Israeli ban on Unrwa will take effect on Thursday.

“It’s an unacceptable decision,” Jonathan Fowler, a spokesperson for Unrwa, as quoted by Reuters. 

“The people that we serve… we are not able to tell them what is going to happen to our services as of the end of this week,” Fowler said.

Unrwa has for decades run schools and medical clinics in occupied East Jerusalem, which Israel seized from Jordan in the 1967 War.

Palestinians of East Jerusalem mainly do not have Israeli citizenship. They have only residency cards.

Israel has not announced what will replace Unrwa. The group will continue to operate in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. 

More than 200 Unrwa staff were killed by Israeli strikes during Israel's war on Gaza.