OTTAWA, October 27, 2024 (WAFA) – In a unified statement, the Foreign Ministers of Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom voiced their grave concern regarding proposed legislation in the Israeli Knesset targeting the UN agency for the Palestine refugees.

This legislation seeks to revoke the privileges and immunities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), effectively banning any contact between Israeli state entities and the agency and prohibiting UNRWA's presence within Israel.

The ministers emphasized the critical role of UNRWA, stating, “UNRWA provides essential and life-saving humanitarian aid and basic services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, East Jerusalem, the West Bank and throughout the region.”

They warned that without the agency's support, “the provision of such assistance and services, including education, health care, and fuel distribution in Gaza and the West Bank would be severely hampered if not impossible,” which would have “devastating consequences on an already critical and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, particularly in northern Gaza.”

The foreign ministers urged the Israeli government to uphold its international obligations, stating, “We urge the Israeli Government to abide by its international obligations, keep the reserve privileges and immunities of UNRWA untouched.”

They stressed the importance of ensuring that UNRWA and other UN organizations can operate freely, calling for the government to “facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms.”

M.N