UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations stressed Tuesday that if Israel puts in place new laws cutting ties with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, the Israeli government will have to meet their needs under international law. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says there is no other U.N. alternative to the agency, known as UNRWA. It has been a lifeline during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, and the Israeli legislation “will have a devastating impact on the humanitarian situation” in the Palestinian territories, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
The U.N. agencies for children, health and migration also stressed that UNRWA is the “backbone” of the world body’s operations in Gaza, where people rely on emergency food aid during the more than yearlong war, which has killed tens of thousands and left much of the enclave in ruins.
The United Nations is heartened by statements of support for UNRWA from all quarters and countries, Dujarric said, and “we would very much appreciate efforts by any member state to help us get over this hurdle.”
Israel has alleged that some of UNRWA’s 13,000 staff members in Gaza participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas, which sparked the war in Gaza. It also has accused hundreds of UNRWA staff of having militant ties and said it has found Hamas military assets in or under the agency’s facilities.
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Poster Comment:
I could not have made up a more satirical headline.