Ramallah: Human Rights and Democracy Media Center- SHAMS, declared that the decision of the United States and its allies to cut the fund of UNRWA, is a despaired attempt to end the Palestinian refugees, and their right to return, questions. The decision is an attempt to supress Palestinians as the Israeli occupation failed in supressing Palestinians despite the destructive war. The Israeli government failed in killing Palestinians and uprooting them from their land despite that the tendency to uproot Palestinians was clear since the first day of the current Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which started in 7/10/2023. Since the beginning of the aggression, the Israeli army is proceeding in the policy of genocide and ethnic cleansing. The Center added that the stance of the United States and the alliance countries with it, reflects to which level these countries are supporting the occupation state in its aggression on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and that they are partnering with Israel in its genocide war. As the Occupying power failed in achieving its targets through military aggression, these countries are aligning with the occupation state through declaring economic war against Palestinians where they declared cutting the fund of the UNRWA under vague and meaningless claims.
SHAMS Center affirmed that cutting the fund of the UNRWA, which is involved in providing humanitarian aid (nutrition, health, and medicine) is involvement by these countries in the starvation that the Occupation State is imposing on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip through a restricted siege. The decision of cutting the fund comes while Palestinians are facing a very difficult winter where all the relief activities of the UNRWA in the Gaza Strip will stop. UNRWA is currently the only institution that provides relief aids and services in the Gaza Strip as all the other governmental and civil institutions and so the private sector institutions were entirely demolished and the international relief agencies are denied access to the Gaza Strip.
Furthermore, SHAMS deplored the stance of the United states that declared cutting the fund of UNRWA (England, Australia, Germany, Italy, Netherland, Finland, Canada, and the USA) where all these countries have a black history of colonialism, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. These countries were established on the ruins of indigenous nations that were ethnically cleansed and the evidents of the genocide crimes that these countries committed in their previous colonies, are still well seen. SHAMS Center added that the decision to cut the UNRWA fund, is a clear manifestation of the colonialism mentality that dominates these countries and their aligning with the Israeli colonial occupation and the genocide war committed against Palestinians.
SHAMS Center affirmed that the decision made by the mentioned countries, violates the international humanitarian law, mainly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic and Social Rights. It is a violation of the United Nations Charter and the UN General Assembly Resolution number 302, dated 8/12/1949, which ruled to establish the UNRWA to contribute to enhance the social and economic circumstances of the Palestinian refugees who were uprooted from their land by the Zionist Militia and Military Groups in the year 1948.
SHAMS Center mentioned that the UNRWA has been always subject to false accusations and attacks by the Israeli occupation in order to stop its work and dismantle it. The Israeli tendency to dismantle the UNRWA because it symbolizes the political dimension of the refugees’ question and it is connected with refugees’ right to return and right to compensation. The functioning of the UNRWA is based on the General Assembly Resolution number 194, which affirmed the right to return and compensation for the Palestinian refugees who were uprooted from their land in the year 1948. The Israeli occupation accused the UNRWA for being unneutral and that its employees, mainly teachers, promote incitement, against the occupation, among the students. The occupation added in its accusation of the UNRWA that it is used by “Terrorism Organizations- as the occupation claims), especially in Lebanon during the 80s of the previous century. The precedent American President, Donald Trump, tried to end the question of the Palestinian refugees when he pressed on the UNRWA and cut its fund in align with the Israeli policy and desire, which deny the applicability of the General Assembly Resolution 194 related to the right of the Palestinian refugees for return and compensation.
SHAMS Center called upon states member of the United Nations General Assembly, Arabic and Islamic Countries, and the international relief agencies to interfere immediately and continue funding the UNRWA to resume its work in providing relief aids for Palestinians, especially within the current difficult circumstances imposed on Palestinians, as a result to the Israeli ongoing aggression against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip; the aggression, which is going on while the world stands speechless.