Israel passes laws to restrict the work of a UN agency that is a lifeline for Gaza

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli lawmakers passed two laws on Monday that could threaten the work of the main U.N. agency providing aid to people in Gaza by barring it from operating on Israeli soil, severing ties with it.

The laws, which do not immediately take effect, signal a new low for a long-troubled relationship between Israel and the U.N. Israel’s international allies said they were deeply worried about their potential impact on Palestinians as the Gaza war’s humanitarian toll worsens.

Under the first law, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, would be banned from conducting “any activity” or providing any service inside Israel. The second law would sever Israel's diplomatic ties with the agency.

The laws risk collapsing the already fragile process for distributing aid in Gaza at a moment when Israel is under increased U.S. pressure to ramp up aid. UNRWA’s chief called them “a dangerous precedent.”