We call on the countries that have announced a temporary freeze on new financial aid to UNRWA (the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Philippines) to withdraw their decision, announced the Prime Minister of the State of Palestine, Mohamed Stajeh.
His statement was delivered by the Embassy of the State of Palestine in Montenegro.
"We look with great concern at the dangerous consequences of the war being waged against UNRWA and the interruption of its funding. The UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is the primary provider of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza and we must allow it, together with other international institutions continue its work to provide humanitarian aid to refugees in these very difficult times. The suspension of UNRWA funding coincides with Israel's plan to displace the Palestinian people in Gaza, and comes during a catastrophic humanitarian situation at a time when the International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to immediately allow aid enters the Gaza Strip," Stajeh pointed out.
He added that the Israeli campaign was launched against the UN agency following Israeli accusations against some of the agency's staff, without first waiting for the completion of the investigation, and despite the agency's claims that it is not responsible for any unilateral work of its individuals.
"Such actions against the agency are not new because Israel, the occupying power, has been working for some time to liquidate the humanitarian agency because of its association with Palestinian refugees and their right of return. Israel's attack on the United Nations in general, and UNRWA in particular, is an act of retaliation against the agency because of the testimony and statements it gave to the International Criminal Court regarding the continued Israeli crimes in Gaza," Stajeh said.
According to him, the suspension of UNRWA funding comes after 114 days of aggression against Gaza, where the death toll is increasing, and displacement, hunger, power outages and water shortages continue.
"The world must begin to take punitive action against Israel, the occupying power, not against the international humanitarian organization that serves Israel's victims. Freezing funding for UNRWA directly contradicts the International Criminal Court's order to increase the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip. Such a decision would have additional devastating effects on people who need help in the Gaza Strip," Stajeh said.
He also said that UNRWA represents the cumulative memory of the suffering of Palestinian refugees wherever they are, including Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
"During the years of work, UNRWA has been a source of hope for Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in accordance with UN resolutions, especially Resolution No. 194," Stajeh concluded.
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