UN Secretary General António Guterres protested in a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday against the ban on working for the Palestinian aid organization UNRWA in Israel. The United Nations veto has also criticized the work ban passed in rare unanimity by Israel’s parliament.
According to a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel wants to continue to fulfill its obligations to other organizations. “Israel is committed to international law and to the provision of humanitarian assistance to Gaza” and will fulfill its international obligations – but in the future, humanitarian assistance to Gaza will be guaranteed through other organizations, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. Oren Mamorstein, told the German news agency.
Israel wants to cooperate with other UN agencies
To this end, we will continue to work with UN agencies and international organizations. He cited the World Food Program, the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF and the World Health Organization as examples.
Guterres reminds Israel of the obligations of the occupying power
In a letter to Netanyahu obtained by news agency AFP, UN Secretary General Guterres appeals “to you and the Israeli government” to avoid the potentially “devastating consequences” and allow UNRWA to continue its activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Eastern Europe. Jerusalem.” “to continue in accordance with its obligations under international law.” As an occupying power, Israel is “obligated to ensure that the needs of the population are met” – and if the country is unable to do so, it must allow and facilitate the activities of the UN.
Previously, the United Nations veto powers had expressed a rare unity in criticizing the ban on the operation of UNRWA in Israel, decided by the Israeli parliament. The US is “deeply troubled by this legislation,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in Washington.
Criticism: “Collective punishment of millions of Palestinians”
Chinese UN Ambassador Fu Cong condemned them “in the strongest possible terms” at the UN Security Council. Closing the aid agency would be “collective punishment for millions of Palestinian refugees,” he said. Russian Ambassador Wassili Nebenzya warned that the aid agency would be closed for good: “We support the statement of the UN Secretary General that UNRWA is irreplaceable and that there is no alternative to it today.”
The decision of the Israeli parliament on Monday evening means that UNRWA can hardly continue its operations in the Palestinian territories because Israel controls the border crossings. Israel accuses the Palestinian aid organization of involving some of its employees in terrorist activities. Israel has provided the United Nations with information on about 100 people employed by UNRWA who are also believed to be members of the terrorist organization Hamas, Mamorstein said.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
