UNITED NATIONS, Jan 29 :With only two days before Israel bans operations of UNRWA, the U.N. aid agency for Palestinian refugees, Pakistan has warned that the move would cripple humanitarian work in war-shattered Gaza and undermine the ceasefire in the enclave.
\n\u201cFor over seven decades, UNRWA has been a beacon of hope for millions of Palestinian refugees across the region,\u201d Ambassador Munir Akram, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told 15-member Council\u2019s meeting convened on Tuesday to address the difficult situation that the agency is facing.With its extensive network of schools, healthcare facilities, and humanitarian services, he said UNRWA remains indispensable in its capacity to provide life-saving assistance, the resumption of education for children and provision of healthcare for the suffering Palestinian, pointing out that it would also be critical for Gaza\u2019s reconstruction.<\/p>\n
UNRWA\u2019s viability and survival was being threatened by the implementation of last October\u2019s Israeli legislation banning the agency activities, he Pakistani envoy said, adding that the move violates the UN Charter, international law, and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
\n\u201cIsrael has no right as the occupying power to close down any UN facility in particular UNRWA office in East Jerusalem or any other UN international facility established in the Occupied Palestinian Territory under the mandate of the United Nations,\u201d Ambassador Akram said, while expressing \u201cunwavering support\u201d to the agency.
\n\u201cIsrael allegations against UNRWA have not been established,\u201d he said. referring to the report by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who was commissioned by the UN Secretary-General to look into the matter.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Pakistani envoy said UNRWA and its \u201cheroic\u201d personnel have continued to operate within Gaza in face of directed attacks against them in which 270 of them perished.
\nBy targeting UNRWA, he said, Israel seeks to dismantle the structures that are critical to provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, but also to erode the identity of Palestinian people and the rights they possess.
\nIsrael is obligated under Article 2 (5) of the UN Charter to assist UNRWA in its work, and a General Assembly resolution further underscores this obligation and condemns Israeli measures that obstruct its operations, it was pointed out.
\nAmbassador Akram voiced Pakistan\u2019s deep concern over these actions and stands in resolute solidarity with the Palestinian people.
\nHe underscored the need to advance an inclusive process to achieve the two state solution as part of resolving the Middle East conflict.
\nWe must resist steps designed to extinguish the Palestinian right to self-determination and statehood; we should instead take steps to make the two-State solution inevitable, the Pakistani envoy added.
\nOpening the debate, the Commissioner General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said the Israeli legislation \u201cmakes a mockery of international law\u201d and imposes massive constraints.
\nWe are determined, however, to stay and deliver until it is no longer possible to do so.\u201d
\nUNRWA was formed in the wake of the wars surrounding Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s establishment in 1948. Its mandate includes providing food, essential aid, health care, education, shelter and other services to Palestinians around the Middle East who were displaced by that conflict, as well as their descendants.
\nIn a response to Israel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s letter about UNRWA, the U.N. Secretary General, Ant\u00c3\u00b3nio Guterres, asked Israel to reverse course, said that under international law Israel was obliged to facilitate the work of the agency, not hinder it.
\nThe UN chief said that the premises the aid workers have been ordered to vacate in East Jerusalem are U.N. property that is protected under international law.
\nAt the same time, he said that he took Israeli allegations about ties between UNRWA workers and Hamas very seriously and that he had taken decisive action to address them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, Jan 29 :With only two days before Israel bans operations of UNRWA, the U.N. aid agency for Palestinian refugees, Pakistan has warned that the move would cripple humanitarian work in war-shattered Gaza and undermine the ceasefire in the enclave. \u201cFor over seven decades, […]<\/p>\n
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