Qatar, OIC commend UN resolution referring UNRWA ban to ICJ
UNRWA social work teams organize activities for children and families next to damaged buildings in the Gaza Strip, July 2024. © 2024 UNRWA Photo
Qatar has welcomed the adoption of a United Nations General Assembly resolution requesting the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue a legal advisory opinion on accusations by Israeli occupation authorities against the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement on Saturday, said the resolution’s adoption by a majority of 137 votes as indicative of a widespread international rejection of Israel’s decisions.
Qatar warned that banning UNRWA’s activities would lead to severe humanitarian and political consequences, depriving millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria of essential services.
This action, Qatar emphasized, threatens to undermine the Palestinian refugee issue and their right to return to their homes.
Reiterating its support for UNRWA, Qatar reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights, including their right to an independent state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Similarly, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) commended the UN resolution and stressed that measures by Israeli authorities undermining the presence and operations of the UN, its agencies, and other international organizations constitute violations of international law and the UN Charter.
The OIC further praised another UN resolution affirming the sovereignty of Palestinians and the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources.
It called for intensified global efforts to end Israeli occupation and enable Palestinians to achieve self-determination and statehood within the 1967 borders.
