Israel considering sanctions against UN agency in West Bank

Israeli Foreign Ministry and Israel Defense Forces are considering imposing sanctions against a UN agency in the West Bank and Gaza following allegations that agency employees have engaged in illegal activity such as illegal construction in Area C which is under a full Israeli control, Israeli daily (Haaretz) reported Sunday. As senior officials in Jerusalem put it, Israel wants to "reassess" the role in the West Bank of the agency, the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Haaretz said, adding that the two options under consideration are limiting the issuing of visas to OCHA employees and rescinding work and travel permits to local residents who work for OCHA. Over the past six months, there has been a major deterioration in relations between OCHA and the Israeli government, a senior Israeli source said, pointing out that OCHA had promoted several projects in Area C without Israeli approval including illegal construction. Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Palestinian territories Eitan Dangot ordered a halt to all OCHA's project work and instructed that a demolition order be issued for any illegal construction. Dangot also asked that the Foreign Ministry lodge a formal complaint at the United Nations in New York, according to Haaretz. About a week ago, officials from the Foreign Ministry, Dangot's office and other ministries met to consider the sanctions against OCHA. On July 10, Israel's UN ambassador, Ron Prosor, sent a harsh letter to the UN's undersecretary for humanitarian affairs, Valerie Amos, who directly oversees OCHA. Prosor expressed Israel's desire to put matters in order regarding OCHA's activities in the West Bank and Gaza and Prosor asked Amos for a full list of OCHA's staff and employees in the West Bank and Gaza, "including full name, location and job description" and asked for "a review of OCHA's main activities in the past two years and its prediction for future activities."