UNRWA Chief Calls On UN Members To Prevent Israel's Implementation Of Restrictions On Palestinian Aid Agencys

UNRWA Shelter in Gaza. (Source: UNRWA)

JAKARTA - Commissioner General of the UN Aid and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini said that currently the organization he leads and millions of Palestinian refugees are at a critical moment, asking UN Member States to act to prevent the implementation of Israeli laws against UNRWA, urging continued funding for the agency.

"By opposing the United Nations Charter, the resolution of the General Assembly and the Security Council, as well as binding orders from the International Court, the State of Israel seeks to unilaterally change the parameters that have long been set to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Lazzarini told the Fourth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly., reported from WAFA November 14.

Last month, the Israeli Parliament passed legislation that could end UNRWA operations in occupied Palestinian territories in less than three months, it said, showing the dissolution of UNRWA would undermine the humanitarian response of the United Nations, which relies heavily on the agency's infrastructure.

"The dissolution of UNRWA will not end the status of Palestinian refugees. This status exists independently from the Agency but will greatly harm their lives and future," added Lazzarini.

Different from other United Nations agencies, Lazzarini said UNRWA was given the mandate to directly provide services such as public services, including education for more than half a million children and primary health services, by noting the agency provides human development services for Palestinian Refugees without Palestinian countries.

During the conflict, UNRWA also provides humanitarian assistance to all in need.

UNRWA is also a victim of war in Gaza. At least 243 UNRWA personnel have been killed and others have been detained by Israel. More than two-thirds of UNRWA facilities have been damaged or destroyed, the UN official said.

In addition to attacks on occupied Palestinian territories, the agency has also been the target of a violent global disinformation campaign, he stressed, adding intense lobbying by the Israeli government and its affiliate groups have targeted parliament and governments in major donor countries.

He stressed the need for the UNRWA to gradually end its mandate within the framework of a political solution, and, in the occupied Palestinian territories, hand over its services to the competent Palestinian government.

Lazzarini called on UN Member States to maintain funding for UNRWA and not withhold or divert funds, assuming that the agency could no longer operate, calling on them to take advantage of all the legal and political tools they have to ensure that international regulatory-based order is enforced.