The Israeli parliament has begun to consider a law to crack down on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East and prevent it from operating in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The UNRWUAThe United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East has called on the UN Security Council to act to protect its mandate to operate in the Gaza Strip and other areas of the region until there is a peaceful solution, in the face of Israel’s plan to declare one. terrorist organization.
“If Israel passes laws that would ban UNRWA’s work, in addition to the catastrophic effect on Palestinians, it would set a dangerous precedent for future humanitarian operations in conflict zones,” warned the agency’s commissioner general, Antonia De Meo.
These statements come after the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, approved in its first reading the declaration of UNRWA as a terrorist organization and the severing of all relations between the agency and the State of Israel.
At a meeting requested by Russia and Algeria to analyse the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, De Meo denounced that, if approved, the proposal would have “disastrous and immediate consequences: it would put all UNRWA staff in danger.”
Furthermore, he warned, “it erodes the foundations of international law and multilateral norms.” “We cannot allow this to become a new standard for future humanitarian operations in conflict zones around the world. Together we must reject calls to dismantle the agency,” he stressed.
The Knesset plan adds to other “concerted efforts” by the Israeli government against UNRWA, such as denying entry permits to humanitarian personnel.
“Many UN officials, as well as NGO staff, have been denied visas to enter Israel. The UNRWA Commissioner-General’s visa expired more than a month ago and has not yet been renewed,” said the UNRWA representative, who defended its existence “because there is no Palestinian state that can provide public services in its place.”
Source: Eitb
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