The UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, is “Hamas with a facelift” and has “lost its legitimacy to exist in its current form,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant tells a visiting delegation of ambassadors to the United Nations.
“Funds from countries all over the world have been funneled through UNRWA and used to strengthen terror infrastructure, and to pay terrorists,” Gallant says.
The delegation is led by Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, according to a statement from the Defense Ministry that fails to detail who the international members of the delegation are or what countries they represent, as well as where the meeting took place.
The statement says Gallant told the envoys that “the IDF will continue operating until it achieves its goals — dismantling the military and governing capabilities of Hamas, and returning the hostages to Israel.”
The minister also warned that the diplomatic window for negotiating a Hezbollah withdrawal from the Israel-Lebanon border area — in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1701 — “is shrinking.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (C) hosts a delegation of countries’ envoys to the UN, February 1, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)
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From the Liveblog of
Thursday, February 1, 2024
