From the Liveblog of
Sunday, January 28, 2024
PA lambasts donor nations’ decision to suspend UNRWA funding as ‘collective punishment’
Gianluca Pacchiani is the Arab affairs reporter for The Times of Israel
The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry describes the suspension of funds to UNRWA by a number of countries, including the US and the UK, as a form of “collective punishment” and “deplorable double standards.”
Nine countries have recently announced they are freezing funding for the UN Palestinian refugee agency after Israel showed evidence that a number of its employees had been involved in the October 7 onslaught.
Ramallah’s Foreign Ministry defines the decision as “highly politicized, disproportionate and unjustified,” especially in light of the fact that the agency’s Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said an independent investigation will be launched into the Israeli claims.
Echoing comments that Lazzarini made last night, Ramallah said it sees the decision to suspend funding to UNRWA as a form of “collective punishment,” stressing that the agency is about to run out of money and will not be able to provide assistance to Palestinian refugees throughout the region.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz has called for Lazzarini to quit and said the body “must be replaced with agencies dedicated to genuine peace and development” after Gaza’s bloodiest war.
War erupted on October 7 when some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, were killed by Hamas terrorists who rampaged across southern Israel. Another 253 people, also largely civilians, were abducted and taken into Gaza, where 132 remain.
Israel responded with a massive offensive aimed at destroying Hamas in Gaza, where it has ruled since 2007, and bringing back the hostages.
The Times of Israel Community.