UK minister Hamish Falconer issues warning over Israel’s UNRWA ban

Middle East Association’s parliamentary event, sponsored by The National, hears demands over restrictions on UN agency

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The UK's Minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer, has said the UN and its partners must be allowed to operate in occupied Palestine, after the Israeli parliament passed laws banning the agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from working in areas under Israel's control.

Speaking in the UK Parliament at a Middle East Association event, sponsored by The National, Mr Falconer raised the UK's demands that Israel must allow “unfettered aid” into Gaza through its land crossings. He also emphasised Britain's concerns over the Israeli ban on UNRWA, which comes into effect this month.

“[Israel] must ensure that the UN and its humanitarian partners can operate effectively,” he said. “We are gravely concerned that the UNRWA bills that the Israeli Knesset has passed risk jeopardising the international humanitarian response and the delivery of essential services in West Bank.”

In October, the Knesset voted in favour of measures aimed at curbing UNRWA’s operations in Gaza after a 90-day grace period, which ends on January 28.

British MPs, including another speaker at the event, Layla Moran, have urged the UK government to press for continued aid access in Gaza. Ms Moran, who has relatives trapped in the enclave, welcomed the event as part of efforts to ensure greater awareness of the issues and dangers facing the Middle East.

“We can't get to the situation where a crisis erupts in the Middle East and parliamentarians find themselves in a position where they don't engage because they don't have the confidence, because it's just too complicated,” Ms Moran said.

Mr Falconer also sought to provide a commitment to the new era in Syria after the regime of Bashar Al Assad was toppled last month. Diplomatic moves to engage with the country's interim government have involved missions to Damascus by UK diplomats, followed by a trip to the region by Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who was in Riyadh at the weekend to push for a peace deal.

Mr Falconer said he met Syrian civil society activists who were grateful for the support of the British government over the years.

“We will do all we can to support a Syrian-led political transition, which must involve an inclusive, nonsectarian and representative government,” he told the event.

Dozens of representatives, officials, Arab ambassadors and business representatives at the gathering exchanged views on the effects the second Donald Trump administration would have on the UK and wider policies towards the Middle East.

Paul Salem, a regional expert, told a panel on Monday that US moves on sanctions after president-elect Trump is inaugurated this month would be key to how Europe relaxed its measures against Syria.

“What the [Syrian] regime needs most is a lifting of sanctions and economic aid. And hence, the incoming Trump administration has huge leverage that affects how Europe can engage,” Mr Salem said.

“The sanctions hit everybody. I hope that the Trump administration will pick up some pieces in a positive way and to engage in a way that is productive and proactive, and that encourages the current very temporary government.”