<\/p>\n
14 November 2024<\/p>\n
Seventy-ninth Session,
\n25th Meeting (AM)<\/p>\n
More than 100\u00a0employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) are involved in terrorism, some holding simultaneous positions within Hamas and the Agency,\u00a0Israel<\/strong>\u2019s delegate told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today while representatives of States in the region and beyond expressed concern about that country\u2019s systematic disinformation campaign against the Agency.<\/p>\n It was an UNRWA social worker who kidnapped Jonathan Samerano from Kibbutz Be\u2019eri, Israel\u2019s delegate said, as she\u00a0recalled how three\u00a0years ago in the Fourth Committee, she had\u00a0urged UNRWA to be accountable for the hateful indoctrination of children in its classrooms.\u00a0 Her country had cautioned about\u00a0\u201crockets and terror tunnels found underneath UNRWA schools in Gaza\u201d and \u201ctextbooks calling Jews Satan\u2019s helpers\u201d. \u00a0However, its warnings went unheeded.\u00a0 The 7\u00a0October events show a deep infiltration of the Agency, with employees taking part in the \u201cabhorrent\u201d acts of violence.<\/p>\n Over the years, Israel has presented evidence that some UNRWA teachers were terrorists, some aid workers were murderers and certain classrooms were used as weapons storage sites, she said. \u00a0These neutrality\u00a0breaches were never investigated.\u00a0 Accusing UNRWA schools of \u201cspreading anti-Semitic and jihadist ideologies\u201d with \u201cmathematical lessons centered on counting murders and suicide bombers\u201d,\u00a0she questioned UNRWA\u2019s claims of school curriculum promoting gender equality, respect and tolerance. \u00a0Calling for accountability, she said her country \u201cwill not accept that aid flows through an organization complicit in terror\u201d.<\/p>\n The representative of Jordan<\/strong>\u00a0urged delegates to reject Israel\u2019s \u201cextremist comments\u201d and \u201cbaseless fallacies\u201d against the Agency.\u00a0 Dismissing Israel\u2019s \u201clies and misleading allegations\u201d against UNRWA, he cited the independent review, which affirmed UNRWA\u2019s high level of neutrality. \u00a0UNRWA is\u00a0\u201cfood on the table\u201d, health services, education and an investment in the region\u2019s stability, security and future, he said.\u00a0 The \u201cillegitimate\u201d Israeli Knesset laws would \u201clift the sanctity from UNRWA and stop its activities\u201d and is part of an Israeli illegal campaign to liquidate Palestinians, he said.<\/p>\n Brazil<\/strong>\u2019s delegate also denounced the disinformation campaign and attacks against UNRWA and firmly condemned the Knesset’s decision to pass laws targeting the Agency. \u00a0They violate the UN Charter, the Convention on Privileges and Immunities of the UN, international humanitarian law and relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, he said, adding that they also disregard the request by the International Court of Justice for Israel to facilitate humanitarian access for Gazans.<\/p>\n Guyana<\/strong>\u2019s delegate cited the UNRWA Commissioner-General\u2019s report presented yesterday, noting: \u201cby the end of 2023, Israeli officials started to increasingly criticize, discredit and undermine UNRWA publicly, often using broad and unsubstantiated allegations\u201d.\u00a0 The Knesset legislation prohibiting UNRWA operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, \u201crisks setting an extremely dangerous precedent for relations between the UN and its Member States if not legally contested,\u201d she said, adding that UNRWA continues to exist because of lack of progress on the two-State solution.<\/p>\n Several delegates echoed that point, including the representative of T\u00fcrkiye<\/strong> who said that the killing of UNRWA staff, the defamation campaign and the recent anti-UNRWA legislation are attempts by Israel, not only to dismantle a vital humanitarian organization, but also to undermine prospects for a two-State solution and obstruct the rightful return of Palestine refugees to their homeland. \u00a0It is \u201cunacceptable for a UN agency to be subjected to such arbitrary and politically motivated actions\u201d, she added.<\/p>\n Syria<\/strong>\u2019s delegate said the only substitute for UNRWA is a Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital.\u00a0 Everyone can see the genocide Israel is perpetrating, he said, noting that 6\u00a0million Palestinians have been ousted from their lands since 1949.\u00a0 His country has hosted Palestinian refugees and will continue to do so until they can return, treating them on an equal footing with Syrian citizens.\u00a0 Condemning Israel\u2019s hostile campaign against UNRWA, including recent legislative and administrative measures, he said that depriving 600,000\u00a0children in the Gaza strip of education is unacceptable.<\/p>\n The representative of Maldives<\/strong> also expressed regret about \u201cthe appalling attempts to discredit the Agency, unjustly branding it as a terrorist organization\u201d. \u00a0UNRWA was never meant to operate for this long, he said, adding that its protracted mandate \u201cis a reflection of our collective failures in resolving this ongoing genocide\u201d.\u00a0 He drew attention to a nationwide telethon held in his country in June in solidarity with the people of Palestine, which raised more than $1.2\u00a0million, which has now been donated to UNRWA. \u00a0\u201cThe success of our telethon demonstrates that our public sentiment lies firmly with the Palestinians,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Countries around the world are supporting UNRWA in its hour of need, delegates told the Committee, drawing attention to its chronic underfunding as well as its current desperate straits.\u00a0 Japan<\/strong> has been at the forefront of providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, that country\u2019s delegate said, noting that it provided approximately $130\u00a0million since 7\u00a0October last year, including $35\u00a0million to the Agency.\u00a0 He also recalled expressing condolences in last year\u2019s meeting on this item for the 89\u00a0UNRWA staff who had been killed. \u00a0\u201cToday, it is heartbreaking that the number has risen to 243,\u201d he said.\u00a0 The Agency is fully committed to further steps to ensure its neutrality including through the full implementation of the Colonna report, he noted.<\/p>\n Germany<\/strong>, described his country as one of UNRWA\u2019s top donors, pledged to work towards the implementation of recommendations of the Independent Review of Mechanisms and Procedures to Ensure Adherence by UNRWA to the Humanitarian Principle of Neutrality.\u00a0UNRWA\u2019s role is indispensable in preventing the collapse of the humanitarian response in Gaza. \u00a0\u201cAt no time in the past 12\u00a0months has so little help reached Gaza as is the case in the moment,\u201d he said, voicing grave concern about the adoption of two\u00a0laws against UNRWA by the Israeli Knesset.<\/p>\n Speakers also remarked on the regional ramifications of UNRWA\u2019s work, with the representative of China<\/strong> noting that\u00a0<\/strong>UNRWA provides relief to Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.\u00a0For the people of Gaza specifically, the Agency\u2019s humanitarian assistance is the last hope of survival. \u00a0\u201cIf the Agency were to shut down, the lifeline of 2\u00a0million people in Gaza will be severed,\u201d he said, expressing concern about how Israel has been systematically, continuously and grossly cracking down on UNRWA.<\/p>\n The representative of the Russian<\/strong> Federation<\/strong> pointed out that \u201cthe Agency is doing everything the occupying Power is obligated to do\u201d.\u00a0 The attacks of 7\u00a0October\u00a02023 cannot be justified, nor can the ghastly collective punishment of the Palestinian people, he said.\u00a0 Israel launched a full-blown disinformation campaign against UNRWA to force donors to withdraw financial support to the Agency but was unable to provide any proof that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7\u00a0October attack.\u00a0 All the donors except the United States have now resumed funding for UNRWA, he noted, pointing to that country\u2019s supply of deadly weapons to Israel.\u00a0 West Jerusalem and Washington share the responsibility for the tragic events on Palestinian territory and the destabilization of the Middle East, he said, adding that the Security Council must vote for an immediate ceasefire.<\/p>\n The representative of Canada<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>also condemning Israel\u2019s adoption of legislation that threatens to prevent UNRWA from working in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, highlighted UNRWA\u2019s unique and irreplaceable role.\u00a0 UNRWA\u2019s operational capacity is unmatched, with a workforce exceeding 5,000\u00a0personnel delivering services directly on the ground, and whose deep local knowledge, logistical expertise and experience in managing security risks have been developed over decades.\u00a0 \u201cIt remains the only organization that has the capacity to deliver aid on the scale necessary to address the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n Along similar lines, South Africa<\/strong>\u2019s delegate noted that the Agency\u2019s experience is vast and its roots run deep. \u00a0His country recently contributed 50\u00a0million rands to the Agency, he said, adding that this is in addition to other ongoing humanitarian assistance provided in partnership with civil society.\u00a0Citing the words of the great Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish, he said: \u00a0\u201cA person can only be born in one place. \u00a0However, he may die several times elsewhere: \u00a0in the exiles and prisons, and in a homeland transformed by the occupation and oppression into a nightmare\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal of Israel, clearly, is to get rid of the Palestinian people,\u201d Bolivia\u2019s delegate said, describing the information provided in the session as harrowing. \u00a0Palestinians in Gaza are living through collective punishment. \u00a0\u201cThey’re living through hell,\u201d he added.\u00a0 UNRWA is a \u201cglimmer of hope\u201d for those who are experiencing these very severe circumstances. \u00a0The living conditions for the Palestinian refugees are getting worse every day as a result of the Israeli occupation, the blockade on Gaza and the restrictions placed on the arrival of humanitarian aid.\u00a0 There has to be predictable and sustained funding provided to UNWRA. \u00a0\u201cThis is a duty that the international community has,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n Speaking in exercise of the right of reply were the representatives of Saudi Arabia<\/strong>, Israel<\/strong>, Syria<\/strong> and Jordan<\/strong> as well as the observer for the State of Palestine<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 14 November 2024 Seventy-ninth Session, 25th Meeting (AM) More than 100\u00a0employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) are involved in terrorism, some holding simultaneous positions within Hamas and the Agency,\u00a0Israel\u2019s delegate told the Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) today while representatives of States 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