Israel banned UNRWA, the UN Palestinian refugee agency, from operating inside its territory. This could have drastic consequences for the two million people the organization says relies on it for essential health services, many of whom are in an area that has seen a strange disappearance of medical facilities in the past year.
Humanitarian groups are outraged. Diplomats are perturbed. Even some of Israel’s rich allies have issued a “grave concern.”
The uproar is curious. Having already proven itself so adept at escalating conflicts with its enemies, Israel’s ban is simply taking its campaign against UNRWA to a new and necessary level. This is good news, and Palestinians — and all those who care about them — should welcome it.
How unfortunate that Israel’s critics can’t see the long game like Israel can. All they see is a highly militarized state inflicting collective punishment on tens of thousands of aid workers, and the millions in their care, because nine of them “may have been involv…
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