Follow-ups – Al-Khabar Al-Yemeni:

The Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, stated that the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is indispensable and can’t be replaced by another UN agency.

He called “to prevent the implementation of the Israeli Knesset decision to halt UNRWA’s work and activities providing assistance to the Palestinian people facing genocide in Gaza.”

“UNRWA represents the international community’s response to the needs of Palestinian refugees under the UN General Assembly resolution,” he explained, adding that “there is a political crisis resulting from Israel’s desire to dismantle UNRWA.”

The UNRWA Director-General pointed out that “no other UN agency can replace us in providing our services to thousands of Palestinians.”

He confirmed that “the dismantling of the agency was one of the goals of the Israeli war on Gaza, aiming to deepen the humanitarian crisis and tightening the inhumane blockade on the Palestinian people to subdue them using food as a tool of war.”

The UNRWA Commissioner-General pointed out that “the sustainable alternative to UNRWA is the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

He noted that “the agency has no alternative plan in Gaza, and the responsibility lies with the occupying authority.”

Lazzarini continued, stating that “Israel’s annexation of Palestinian territories will not achieve sustainable peace in the region,” noting that “we will not be able to operate starting from January 28 if Israeli laws banning our activities are enforced.”