“The application of the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) legislation will increase instability and deepen despair in occupied Palestine, a territory at a critical moment,” he stressed to the Security Council on Gaza. “The Agency is essential to support a devastated population and the ceasefire; however, our operations in the occupied Palestinian territory will be paralyzed in two days, when the regulations come into force,” he said.
Lazzarini said the fate of millions of Palestinians was at stake, as was the ceasefire and the prospects for a political solution that would bring lasting peace and security. He stressed the importance of maintaining the ceasefire to address the devastation caused by a war in which 46,000 Palestinians were killed – a figure that could be as much as 40 percent underestimated – mostly women, children, and the elderly.
According to the UN, the devastation caused in Gaza by Israel in the past 15 months poses daunting challenges that include supporting the tens of thousands of Gazans with the services that UNRWA has provided for decades.
“Restricting our operations now, outside of a political process and when trust in the international community is so low, will undermine the ceasefire, sabotage the recovery and political transition in Gaza (…) the full implementation of the Knesset legislation will be disastrous,” Lazzarini warned. “It will not only jeopardize the international humanitarian response but will undermine the UN’s capacity just when it is necessary to significantly increase humanitarian assistance, worsening the already catastrophic living conditions of millions of Palestinians,” he continued.
Lazzarini explained that the removal of basic services will equally affect Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, but in the Gaza Strip, the absence of an agency to assist in reconstruction will be added. He also noted that the Palestinian Authority has made it clear that it does not have the financial resources or the capacity to compensate for the loss of UNRWA services.
“In occupied East Jerusalem, Israel has ordered UNRWA to vacate its premises and cease operations by Thursday,” Lazzarini said and reported that the deputy mayor called for a public celebration of the agency’s expulsion in front of the agency’s office in the West Bank, where local authorities plan to build illegal settlements. He also argued that the Knesset legislation is a mockery of international law because it violates Security Council resolutions and International Court of Justice rulings.
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