Palestine, Lebanon : The attack on UNRWA is an integral part of the occupation’s attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause

The Permanent Representative of Palestine to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, stressed that the attack on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is an integral part of the Israeli occupation’s attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause.

“This is further evidence of the genocide committed by the occupation in the Gaza Strip through its aggression against the Palestinians and everyone who tries to help them survive” Mansour said during a session of the United Nations General Assembly.

He added “targeting UNRWA  is part of the attack on the Palestinian refugees to deprive them of their status as refugees and deprive them of their rights.”

Mansour stressed that the UN agency cannot be dispensed with or replaced, calling for collective and decisive action to preserve UNRWA and enable it to fulfill its mandate and defeat any attempts to destroy it.

For his part, Lebanon’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Hadi Hashem, condemned in a statement on behalf of the Arab Group the Israeli occupation’s ban on the work of  (UNRWA), stressing the need to confront this dangerous illegal step, which is a dangerous precedent not only for the Palestinian people but also for the United Nations and the international community as a whole.

In turn, the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Philemon Yang, said: “Cutting off UNRWA services would be catastrophic and would mean that Palestinian refugees would not receive the life-saving needs they need, and this is completely unacceptable.”

In a related context,  UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said that UNRWA is going through its darkest moment and action must be taken to defend it and the Palestinian refugees

He called on member states of the United Nations General Assembly to take action in defense of Palestinian refugees and the agency as it goes through its darkest moment.

“UNRWA is the mechanism mandated by this Assembly to assist Palestinian refugees and is unique among UN agencies in that it is mandated to provide direct public services, including education for more than half a million Palestinian children, primary health care and social support,” Lazzarini said in a statement.

He called again on member states to take action to prevent the implementation of legislation against the UN agency, which includes preventing the agency’s activities in the Palestinian territories.

Lazzarini noted  that changes to the agency’s mandate are within the jurisdiction of the General Assembly, calling  for continuing to provide the necessary support to the agency to enable it to continue performing its role.