The head of the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, described the Israeli parliament’s decision to ban the organization’s activities in the country as “collective punishment”, stating that it is contrary to the UN Charter. and will lead to “a further aggravation of the suffering of the Palestinians.”
Previously, the Jerusalem Post reported that the Israeli Knesset (parliament) passed two bills aimed at banning UNRWA activities in Israel. As the publication notes, the bills were passed by 92 votes to 10. Israel has repeatedly stated that employees of UN agencies are associated with Hamas.
“The Israeli parliament’s vote this afternoon against UNRWA… sets a dangerous precedent. It is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and violates the obligations of the State of Israel under international law… These bills will only worsen the suffering of the Palestinians, especially in Gaza, where people have been living in absolute hell for more than a year. . They will deprive more than 650,000 girls and boys of education and will put an entire generation of children at risk. “These bills…are nothing more than collective punishment.” – says a message on Lazzarini’s page on the social network X.
As the head of the agency stressed, the Knesset decision is another step in the “ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA.”
Previously, several countries, including Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Great Britain, opposed the ban on UNRWA work in Israel, RIA Novosti recalls.
