Maureen Okpe
The Ambassador of the Embassy of the State of Palestine, Abdullah Abu Shawesh has expressed concern over the the approval of the Israeli Knesset bill to end the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), in the West Bank,East Jerusalem and Gaza strip.
Shawesh during a press briefing, in Abuja stressed this decision will deepen the suffering and misery of millions of Palestinian refugees specially in Gaza.
The Ambassador decried the devastating situation this will create as UNRWA employs 30,000 Palestinians, also serving almost 6 million refugees, including in Gaza where 1,476,706 Palestinians are registered as refugees in eight Palestinian refugee camps, while in the West Bank 800,000 are registered.
Shawesh lamented that, the bill will also deprive nearly 650,000 students of their right to education in Gaza alone.
He said, This bill does not revoke the refugee status of Palestinians, as it is safeguarded by UNGA resolutions and many other international law instruments until their right to return is acknowledged and the question of Palestinian refugees is resolved by implementing UN Resolution 194.
He noted that the war on Gaza has exacerbated the situation in the region adding, “on the 391st day of the US-Israeli heinous, malicious, and vindictive genocide, the death toll has risen to 43,163, with 101,510 injured.
“The war on Gaza. It is not the war in Gaza.
Words have meanings.
“As of October 30, for the 24th day in a row, the northern Gaza Strip has been completely cut off from the rest of the enclave, under a total siege with no access to humanitarian aid, medical assistance, supplies, water, and other basic necessities for life.
“This has led to nearly 1000 martyrs, tens of missing persons and thousands injured, in addition to hundreds of homes being completely razed.
“The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that more than 60,000 people have been displaced in northern Gaza in October alone.
“UNICEF estimates that at least 19,000 children have been separated from their families, forced to fend for themselves. Children are being medically evacuated from Gaza at a rate of fewer than one child per day.
He further noted that, If this lethally slow pace continues, it would take more than seven years to evacuate the 2,500 children needing urgent medical care.
“As of October 28, the total number of arrests has reached 11,500 in the Occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem. This includes 430 women, 750 children, and 132 journalists, with 59 of them still under arrest, including 6 women journalists and 31 journalists from Gaza.
“More than 9,392 administrative detainees have been reported. 41 prisoners were martyred, and their bodies are still being held captive. In Gaza only, at least 232 UNRWA staff have been killed. Over 200 UNRWA premises have been damaged or destroyed.
“On the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attack, a survey published by the Israel Democracy Institute found that only 6% of Israelis think the war in Gaza should be stopped due to the “the great cost in human life.”
“On the adapted Transforming our world: the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. The international community raised a brilliant slogan call ‘we pledge that no one will be left behind.’
“We the Palestinians, were left behind.”