The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, recently passed two bills banning the activities of the United Nations agency UNRWA in Israeli territory. Apart from this, the administrative agencies have also been prohibited from having any kind of contact with him.
In formally notifying the president of the UN General Assembly of the new law, Israel said cooperation with the organization would be terminated within 90 days.
General Assembly President Young, while addressing the informal meeting, noted that it was established in 1949 by the United Nations General Assembly. “As President of the General Assembly, it is my responsibility” to ensure that international law, the UN Charter and UN resolutions are respected by all UN member states.
However, if Israeli law is implemented, the UN agency’s mandate will be put to rest.
In view of this, the head of the UN General Assembly called on the Government of Israel to honor its agreed obligations and allow UNRWA to continue to operate as mandated by the General Assembly.
“It would be disastrous for UNRWA to be prevented from doing its work. “This means that Palestinian refugees will not be able to get the life-saving assistance they need.”
“This is totally unacceptable. “Any such attack on any UN agency is an attack on the two-state solution.”
Dark times for the organization
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNRWA), said he was addressing member state representatives in the General Assembly hall at a dark time.
He said the laws passed by the Israeli Knesset posed a major threat to his organization’s existence. If these are implemented, the lives of millions of Palestinians will be disrupted.
According to Philippe Lazzarini, since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, Israel has made the dismantling of UNRWA one of its war objectives, and the bills passed by the Knesset fulfill this objective.
“But its purpose is much more than weakening UNRWA and the United Nations.” It seeks to end the Palestinian right to self-determination and desire for a just political solution.
In dire circumstances
Commissioner General Lazzarini said, this is the first time since World War II that such a large-scale bombardment has been carried out on a civilian population. In addition, there is a severe restriction on humanitarian aid, which has led to a hellish situation in Gaza.
More than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed so far, most of them women and children, but thousands more are feared to be buried under the rubble.
“Almost the entire population of Palestine has been displaced.” At the same time, hostages taken from Israel in Gaza have long been held in dangerous conditions.
According to the UNRWA chief, his agency’s premises have been destroyed or damaged and 239 workers have lost their lives so far.
UNRWA continues its humanitarian assistance operations despite insecurity and deadly bombings.
Three important claims
He reiterated that in these dark times for the Palestinians, UNRWA, which is providing aid to civilians, is in jeopardy due to the actions of the Israeli parliament.
In this context, Filipe Lazzarini presented his three demands to the member states at the UN General Assembly.
First, steps must be taken to prevent UNRWA from being enforced.
Second, as part of any move towards political change, it must be ensured that UNRWA’s role is clarified.
Third, member states must maintain financial support for UNRWA and avoid shutting down the organization on the pretext that it can no longer function following the imposition of Israeli sanctions.