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7 States to UNSC: We ‘Deeply Deplore’ Israel’s Decision on UNRWA

CrossFireArabia
January 29, 2025

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.

News

Pope Francis: Gaza, Lebanon Bombings ‘Immoral’

CrossFireArabia
September 30, 2024

Pope Francis, Sunday, said Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Lebanon are “immoral” and “disproportionate.”

During his flight back from a four-day trip to Luxembourg and Belgium, the pope was asked about Israel’s targeted killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Friday’s strike on Beirut, which led to many casualties and reduced many buildings to rubble.

Harsh words from Pope Francis on Israel's bombing of Gaza & Lebanon

"This is not war. This is terrorism."

Israel and Biden have completely lost the moral argument globally. pic.twitter.com/TEJCWuXNy1
— Muslims4Peace (@muslims4peaceUS) September 30, 2024

“Every day I call the parish of Gaza. More than 600 people are there, inside the parish and the college, and they tell me about the things that are happening, including the cruelties that are occurring there,” he told journalists.

“What you are telling me—I didn’t quite understand how things have been — but defense must always be proportionate to the attack,” he added.

The Israeli army has pounded Lebanon against what it called Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23, killing at least 816 people and injuring over 2,500 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. The heavy bombardment also targeted senior Hezbollah commanders and forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes.

Asked about Israel’s bombing of Lebanon, Pope Francis said “When there is something disproportionate, there is a dominating tendency that goes beyond morality…A country that does these things…these are immoral actions." https://t.co/OTzBlkuGE6
— James J. Zogby (@jjz1600) September 30, 2024

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,000 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.

“When there is something disproportionate, a domineering tendency that goes beyond morality is evident,” the pope said.

“A country that, with its forces, does these things—I’m talking about any country—that does these things in such a “superlative” way, these are immoral actions,” he added according to the Anadolu news agency.

“Even in war, there is morality to be safe-guarded. War is immoral, but the rules of war indicate some morality. But when this is not respected, you can see—as we say in Argentina—the “bad blood” of these things.”