NEW YORK (Dispatches) – The Zionist regime’s move to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) marks a “new level” in its war with the UN, the Palestinian envoy to the UN has said.
The occupying regime’s parliament or Knesset approved bills on Monday aimed at banning UNRWA from operating in the occupied territories.
UNRWA supports Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, occupied East Al-Quds, as well as surrounding countries.
Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour told the UN Security Council that the Knesset’s legislation to ban UNRWA “constitutes a new level in this war against the UN and an integral part of an all-out assault on the Palestinian people”.
He noted how the occupying regime had declared UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “persona non grata” – and had killed, detained and tortured UN staff and UN peacekeepers.
Mansour noted many countries condemned the occupying regime decision to ban UNRWA.
“And yet Israel still sits among us and utilizes its seat to incite against the UN … When will the condemnations lead to actions and accountability?” Mansour questioned.
UNRWA has provided essential aid, schooling, and healthcare across the Palestinian territory and to Palestinian refugees elsewhere for more than seven decades.
But since the occupying regime’s war on Gaza began last October, the agency itself has suffered heavy losses, with at least 223 of its staff killed and two-thirds of its facilities in Gaza damaged or destroyed.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres sent a letter Tuesday to Zionist prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu protesting the new law that could effectively cripple the UN agency responsible for aiding Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
In the letter, which was seen by AFP, Guterres said the law could have “devastating consequences” for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank because there is no reasonable alternative to UNRWA for providing the aid and assistance these people need.
“I appeal to you and to the government of Israel to prevent such devastating consequences and to allow UNRWA to continue carrying out its activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, in accordance with its obligations under international law,” Guterres wrote.
“Israel, as the occupying power, continues to be required to ensure that the needs of the population are met,” Guterres wrote.
“If Israel is not in a position to meet such needs, it has an obligation to allow and facilitate the activities of the United Nations, including UNRWA, and other humanitarian agencies, until the needs of Palestine refugees in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are met,” he added.