UNITED NATIONS — An entire generation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip would “be denied the right to education” if the United Nations Palestinian relief agency UNRWA collapses in the enclave under new Israeli legislation, the head of UNRWA warned on Wednesday (Nov 13).

Israel’s parliament passed a law last month that will ban UNRWA from operating in the country when it takes effect in late January. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said its implementation “will have catastrophic consequences.”

“In Gaza, dismantling UNRWA will collapse the United Nations humanitarian response, which relies heavily on the agency’s infrastructure,” he told a UN General Assembly committee. “Glaringly absent from discussions about Gaza without UNRWA, is education.”

“In the absence of a capable public administration or state, only UNRWA can deliver education to more than 660,000 girls and boys across Gaza. In the absence of UNRWA, an entire generation will be denied the right to education,” he said, warning that this would sow “the seeds for marginalisation and extremism.”