Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit,
Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, expressed deep concern
over the perilous consequences of an ongoing incitement campaign against
the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
(UNRWA). This campaign has resulted in some countries suspending their
financial contributions to the agency, triggered by Israel's claim of
seven UNRWA employees' involvement in attacks on 7 October.
The League's Secretary-General underscored that the systematic
incitement led by Israel "aims to eradicate the international agency's
role entirely. This comes after attacks on UNRWA headquarters during the
conflict in the Gaza Strip and the targeting of its personnel."
Mr. Aboul Gheit remarked, "It is surprising that significant Western
countries have opted to suspend their funding for the agency at this
critical stage based on accusations against a limited number of
individuals, which, even if true, do not represent the nature of the
organisation encompassing about 300,000 employees, the majority being
Palestinians."
Quoting Mr. Aboul Gheit, Gamal Roshdy, the official spokesman,
highlighted that this campaign isn't novel, and the repeated attempts to
dismantle the agency's work, serving millions of Palestinian refugees
across its five areas of operation, aim to pressure the international
community into forsaking its responsibilities in providing relief. The
intent is to shift the entire burden onto countries sympathetic to the
Palestinian cause, especially Arab nations.
Roshdy pointed out that UNRWA was established by a UN resolution in
1949, emphasising that the responsibility for caring for Palestinian
refugees lies with the international community and donor countries until
a just solution is reached. Abandoning this responsibility amid
Israel's ongoing conflict against Palestinian civilians risks leaving
them vulnerable to starvation and displacement, playing into Israel's
plan to eliminate their cause. This, in turn, deals a severe blow to the
Palestinian community, with refugees in the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank constituting a significant portion of its population.
