UNRWA chief urges UN General Assembly to take action against Israel ban

Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), has urged the President of the UN General Assembly to take immediate action to support the agency’s operations in occupied Palestinian territories.

Lazzarini warns that recent laws passed by the Knesset, banning Israeli officials from contacting UNRWA and prohibiting the agency’s operations in Israeli-controlled areas, threaten the very existence of UNRWA’s operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

The consequences of inaction would be catastrophic, Lazzarini cautions, posing “dire consequences for international peace and security.”

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UNRWA plays a critical role in providing humanitarian assistance to over 2.2 million people in Gaza, and its collapse would have far-reaching implications for the region’s stability.

He wrote: “Today, even as we look into the faces of children in Gaza, some of whom we know will die tomorrow, the rules-based international order is crumbling in a repetition of the horrors that led to the establishment of the United Nations, and in violation of commitments to prevent their recurrence,” he said.

“The attacks on UNRWA are an integral part of this disintegration.”

“Under such untenable conditions, I seek Member States’ support, commensurate with the gravity of the situation and risks, to ensure the Agency’s ability to fully implement the mandate conferred by the General Assembly,” he added.

The Muslim Parrot reported that Israeli politicians passed a controversial law to ban the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating within the country.

The move is largely driven by allegations that some UNRWA staff members in Gaza have ties to Hamas, a group considered a terrorist organization by Israel.

The ban has been condemned by members of the international community including key Israeli allies.