CAIRO: The Arab League has sought intervention of the US administration and the European Union (EU) to take action to prevent the implementation of the Israeli right-wing plan to completely undermine the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit has sent letters to the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell highlighting the recent law passed by the Israeli Knesset to ban UNRWA activities, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Thursday.
The letters warned about the risks associated with undermining the agency’s work in Palestinian territories, noting that the new laws adopted by the occupation state threaten a complete collapse of the humanitarian response system in Gaza, where residents are on the brink of famine.
Jamal Rushdi, the official spokesman of the Secretary-General, said the letter stressed that UNRWA is a pillar of stability not only in Palestine but throughout the entire region.
He added that dismantling it would be a severe blow to those who still believe in the possibility of peace in the Middle East.
Rushdi said that the recent legislation is a violation of Israel’s international obligations as a UN member state, posing a serious international precedent.
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Earlier, the Extraordinary Arab and Islamic Summit, held on November 11 in Riyadh condemned the continued adoption and approval by the Israeli Knesset of racist and illegal laws, including the so-called law withdrawing the immunity granted to employees of the United Nations Relief and Works the Agency for Palestine Refugees.
The summit joint statement criticised preventing the UN relief agency from working in the occupied Palestinian territories and severing relations with it.
The summit urged Member States of the United Nations to impose sanctions on Israel, the occupying power to force it to comply with international law and international legitimacy resolutions, and called on all states to provide effective political and financial support to the agency.
