Moussa Faki Mahamat further called on Israel to respect the international humanitarian law that mandates the provision of relief aid “for civilians in need.”
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat voiced on Wednesday his deep concern over Israel’s ban on the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), calling on the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council to take an “urgent decisive action” to reaffirm international law.
In a statement issued by the African Union Commission, Mahamat described the Israeli Knesset’s move as “in defiance of international law,” reminding Israel of its “obligations and commitments” under international law including its legal obligations as a member state of the United Nations.
The African official stressed that UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly, and its presence and operation have been mandated by the international organization since 1949 to help Palestinian refugees.
Mahamat further called on Israel to respect the international humanitarian law that mandates the provision of relief aid “for civilians in need.”
The chairperson went on to outline the drastic consequences of the Israeli measure if it goes into effect.
“If implemented, would prevent UN humanitarian assistance to Palestinian people under Israeli occupation and already under unprecedented and continued physical attack for the past year,” he stressed.
Statement of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission @AUC_MoussaFaki on Israeli legislation on UNRWAhttps://t.co/C3Kz13I1zx pic.twitter.com/4fOrVrwiek
— African Union (@_AfricanUnion) October 30, 2024
World Condemnation
Israel’s ban on UNRWA in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories has been met with world condemnation.
In line with the African Union Commission, the Governments of Ireland, Norway, Slovenia and Spain condemned the legislation in a joint statement.
“UNRWA has a mandate from the United Nations General Assembly. The work of the Agency is essential and irreplaceable for millions of Palestinian refugees in the region, and particularly in the current context in Gaza,” the statement said.
“The legislation approved by the Knesset sets a very serious precedent for the work of the United Nations and for all organizations of the multilateral system,” it added.
On October 27, seven other countries issued a statement warning Israel against adopting a proposed Knesset bill banning the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, highlighting the “devastating consequences” of such a move.
The signatories of the joint statement are the foreign ministers of Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom.
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The countries voiced their “grave concern” over the proposed bill in the Israeli Knesset, which they said aims to revoke the “privileges and immunities” of UNRWA “forbidding any contact” between Israel and the UN agency and “prohibiting any UNRWA presence within Israel.
The statement stressed the important work the UN agency conducts within the vulnerable Palestinian community in the occupied territories.
“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,” the statement read.
Death Toll on the Rise
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 43,163 Palestinians have been killed, and 101,510 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
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Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
