RAMALLAH, Friday, December 13, 2019 (WAFA) – President Mahmoud Abbas praised today the overwhelming vote by the UN General Assembly on Friday in favor of extending the mission of the UN agency supporting the Palestinian refugees in the Middle East.

The UN’s Fourth Committee approved a resolution extending the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) until June 30, 2023, with 169 votes in favor and nine abstentions, while the United States and Israel voted against.

President Abbas hailed the vote and described it as a clear message from the international community that “the resolutions of international legitimacy are not subject to bargaining or blackmail”.

He said the resolution is “evidence that the entire world are standing with our people, its historical rights and its just cause”, and that “it is a triumph for international law and the rights of the Palestinian refugees, until their issue is finally resolved in accordance with United Nations resolutions.”

The President thanked on behalf of the leadership and people of Palestine all countries that voted in favor of the resolution, calling upon the international community to advance a just solution for the question of Palestine to help achieve peace and security in the region.

The UNRWA has been in a financial crisis since last year after the United States -- its biggest donor -- under the administration of President Donald Trump has taken an increasingly hardline stance toward Palestine and halted its aid of $360 million to the organization per year.

Last January, UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl slammed the "political dimension" of the US decision to cut funding for the body by more than half, warning that it could escalate instability across the Middle East.

M.N