In a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on January 8, Guterres said the United Nations could not remain indifferent to “Israel’s actions that are in direct conflict with its obligations under international law.” “They must be canceled without delay,” he said, reports HINA.
In October 2024, Israel’s parliament passed a law banning UNRWA from operating in the country and banning government officials from contacting the agency. Last month, the law was further tightened to ban the supply of electricity and water to UNRWA facilities.
Israeli authorities also seized UNRWA’s offices in East Jerusalem last month. The United Nations considers East Jerusalem to be under Israeli occupation, while Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be part of its state. Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon today rejected Guterres’ letter to Netanyahu.
“We are not intimidated by the Secretary General’s threats,” Danon said. “Instead of addressing the undeniable involvement of UNRWA staff in terrorism, the Secretary-General chooses to threaten Israel. This is not a defense of international law, but a defense of an organization tainted by terrorism,” he said.
Israel has long been critical of UNRWA, which was established by the UN General Assembly in 1949 after the war that followed Israel’s founding. The agency provided humanitarian aid, health care and education to millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
The United Nations has said that nine UNRWA employees may have been involved in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and have been fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon, who was killed by Israel in September, was also found to be employed by UNRWA.
The UN has promised to investigate all the allegations and has repeatedly asked Israel for evidence which, according to the UN, has still not been provided.
(Vijesti.ba)
