Palestinian Authority condemns Israeli confiscation of UNRWA headquarters site in East Jerusalem

The Foreign Ministry of the Palestinian Authority has condemned this Thursday the confiscation by Israel of the land on which the headquarters of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem is located, considering that it It is a “flagrant violation of United Nations resolutions and an attempt to liquidate the refugee issue.”

“The conversion of the site into an advanced settlement containing 1,440 housing units is considered a flagrant violation of International Law and an infringement of the immunity of the United Nations institutions,” reads a statement published on its profile on the social network X.

The ministerial portfolio has pointed out that “the systematic attacks and incitement campaign carried out by the occupation against UNRWA are a hidden hostility to liquidate the issue of Palestinian refugees and their inherent right of return, clearly demonstrated during the genocidal war against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in the refugee camps and diasporas.

In this regard, it has reiterated its “continued political, diplomatic and legal efforts to ensure the protection of UNRWA and the implementation of its mandate in the most effective manner possible in accordance with the relevant resolutions.” Thus, he has asked “to intensify international efforts aimed at preserving its mandate, ensuring its continuity and not replacing it, and ensuring its necessary financing.”

Finally, he referred to the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and its legal opinion that Israel does not have sovereignty in the occupied Palestinian territories, taking advantage of the occasion to ask the international community to take measures against the “State scoundrel” of Israel and its leaders are held accountable “as war criminals.

The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf has joined in the condemnation, emphasizing that this decision “is considered a serious violation of international conventions and United Nations resolutions, and threatens to undermine UNRWA’s efforts to provide its basic services to Palestinian refugees.

Thus, he has “underlined the Council’s support for the “vital” role of UNRWA in providing humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees, and has called on the international community to assume its responsibilities to force the Israeli occupation forces to cancel this decision”.