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Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Slovenia and Spain told the UN Security Council (UNSC) they “deeply deplore” the Israeli parliament’s decision to “abolish” UNRWA’s operations in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
“We condemn Israel’s withdrawal from the 1967 agreement between Israel and UNRWA and any attempt to obstruct its capacity to operate and carry out its UNGA mandate,” the group said in a joint statement to the UNSC.
The bloc also demanded the “suspension of the entry into force” of the Israeli laws banning UNRWA, which they said did not comply with international law and the UN Charter.
“We support UNRWA as part of our humanitarian commitment and our firm defence and respect of international law, including international humanitarian law,” they said.
UNRWA plays a critical role in providing healthcare and education in the occupied Palestinian territories. Since the outbreak of the genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023, the agency has supplied 60% of the food entering the besieged strip.
Israel had told the UNSC on Tuesday that within 48 hours it would cut all contact with UNRWA, ban Israeli officials dealing with the agency, and require the closure of the organisation’s offices in areas under Israeli control.
“UNRWA must cease its operations and evacuate all premises it operates in Jerusalem, including the properties located in Maalot Dafna and Kafr Aqab,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told the council.
“The law prohibits UNRWA from operating within Israel’s sovereign borders and bans any communication between Israeli officials and the agency,” Danon said.
“Israel will terminate all collaboration, communication and contact with UNRWA or anyone acting on its behalf,” he said.
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UNRWA, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the ban, takes effect on January 30, would “heighten instability and deepen despair in the occupied Palestinian territory at a critical moment.”
“Since October 2023, we have delivered two-thirds of all food assistance, provided shelter to over a million displaced persons and vaccinated a quarter of a million children against polio,” Lazzarini told the Security Council.
“Since the ceasefire began, UNRWA has brought in 60 percent of the food entering Gaza, reaching more than half a million people. We conduct some 17,000 medical consultations every day,” he said according to the Quds News Network.
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