GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Hamas Movement on Thursday condemned the voting on a bill in a preliminary reading in the Israeli Knesset to ban the work of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in Occupied Jerusalem.
The Palestinian group said the move is aimed to “terminate the work of the agency which represents an international witness on the suffering of our people, on their forcible expulsion from their homes and on their right to return to them.”
“We reject this occupation’s decision, which contradicts the related international resolutions,” the Movement said.
It further urged the international community and the UN “to take all necessary steps and measures to ensure the continuity of the agency’s work.”
Earlier Wednesday, the Israeli Knesset passed a bill in its preliminary reading to ban UNRWA in Israel and the occupied West Bank. The bill, however, needs to pass three more readings before becoming law.
Meanwhile, Ireland has announced 20 million euros ($21.5m) in support for UNRWA.
“In Gaza, we are bearing witness to a humanitarian catastrophe. People are in dire need of the most basic lifesaving provisions – food, water, shelter,” said Foreign Minister Micheal Martin.
“In these most harrowing conditions, facing the prospect of further military escalation, UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian response. It urgently needs support from all UN member states,” Martin said during a visit to Dublin by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
“I urge other donors to resume and expand support to UNRWA so that it can deliver for the millions of Palestinian refugees in need,” he concluded.
