Aid workers, including from UNRWA, face deportation from Israel - report

Tens to hundreds of humanitarian organization employees who work in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including from UNRWA, are facing deportation in the near future because the Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry has stopped recommending their renewals since October 7, according to a thread on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday.

פרסום ראשון | עשרות עובדים בארגונים הומניטריים בישראל, כולל אונר"א, צפויים להיות מגורשים מישראל בקרוב. הסיבה? משרד הרווחה, האמון על מתן המלצה למשרד הפנים לחדש להם את האשרות, הפסיק להעביר את ההמלצות מאז ה-7 באוקטובר.פרטים נוספים עקבו אחר השרשור>>>

— Yanir Cozin - יניר קוזין (@yanircozin) February 22, 2024

Yanir Cozin, the creator of the thread and diplomacy correspondent for Army Radio, wrote that the Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry employees claim that they simply don't have the tools to give property background checks and security clearance in order to recommend candidates for visa extensions, following the attack on October 7 and recent discoveries of UNRWA employees being affiliated with Hamas.

Welfare and Social Affairs Minister Ya'acov Margi supported his employees' decision and instructed them to work directly with security bodies so that this responsibility would eventually be transferred to them instead.

Yanir then expressed his own opinion, saying, "Something significant happened on October 7, we can't just automatically renew every worker's visa without checking them in-depth, and the Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry is not the one that needs to be doing that."

The Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry weighs in on the issue

The Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry commented on the matter said, "Issuing visas for work and volunteering in Israel is currently done by the Population and Immigration Authority after our recommendation. In light of the complex security situation created after October 7, it was decided to transfer the responsibility to another government body and we are working with our colleagues in the relevant government ministries to complete the process."

It's important to note that, according to the thread, the Israeli government doesn't have any intent to let the worker's visas purposefully expire, however if a solution isn't found soon, the workers will be deported nonetheless.