The United Nations says replacing its Palestinian relief agency UNRWA in Gaza and the West Bank is not the world body's responsibility, signaling it was Israel's problem, according to a letter excerpt seen by Reuters.

Many Palestinians see darker motives, viewing the UNRWA ban as Israel's latest attempt to make their lives unlivable, first imprisoning and bombing them, now taking away their main aid lifeline. “The impact on the ground will be horrible,” Mustafa Barghouti, head of the Palestinian National Initiative political party, told NBC News.

Two bills making their way through Israel’s parliament would sever its ties with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, strip it of legal immunities and effectively bar it from operating in Israel and the Palestinian territories.