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STATEMENT
OF THE BUREAU OF THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY’S COMMITTEE ON THE
EXERCISE OF THE INALIENABLE RIGHTS
OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE
UN Palestinian
Rights Committee Bureau: Knesset’s
decision to ban UNRWA is as unlawful
as the occupation itself
31 October
2024
New York, 31
October 2024 - The Bureau
of the UN Palestinian Rights
Committee denounces the Israeli
parliament’s (Knesset) adoption of
two bills in regard to the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East
(UNRWA) to outright ban the Agency
and strip it of its privileges and
immunities as a United Nations
entity, obstructing its ability to
carry out its essential operations
in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, including East Jerusalem,
as mandated by the General Assembly.
This unprecedented illegal action by
Israel, the Occupying Power,
contravenes the United Nations
Charter, the Convention on
Privileges and Immunities of the
United Nations, and countless
relevant General Assembly and
Security Council resolutions and
directly violates Israel’s
obligations as the occupying Power
under international humanitarian
law.
As affirmed by
the International Court of Justice,
Israel has no entitlement to
sovereignty or to sovereign powers
in any part of the Occupied
Palestinian Territory, including
East Jerusalem, due to its status as
an Occupying Power. Therefore, the
Knesset’s decision to ban UNRWA is
as unlawful as the occupation
itself, which must end as swiftly as
possible, as determined by the Court
and General Assembly resolution
ES-10/24.
Israel’s unlawful
decision and hostile actions against
UNRWA, a UN-mandated entity,
threaten to exacerbate the suffering
of millions of Palestine refugees
across the region, especially in the
Gaza Strip, where more than 2
million people depend on the Agency
for survival, relying on it for
essential services such as
education, food, protection,
shelter, and healthcare. These
actions amount to collective
punishment, depriving Gaza’s
population of life-saving aid and
worsening famine and humanitarian
conditions. The Agency itself has
suffered severe losses, with 237
staff members killed and over 200
facilities damaged or
destroyed. Israel’s efforts to
undermine and dismantle UNRWA also
aim to negate the legal status and
rights of the Palestine refugees,
obstructing the realization of the
Palestinian people’s inalienable
rights and the two-State solution,
and must be firmly rejected.
The Committee Bureau
calls upon the General Assembly, the
Security Council, and the Member
States to categorically reject
Israel’s decision, demand its
immediate reversal, and insist that
Israel respect UNRWA’s mandate,
immediately cease all attacks on the
Agency and its humanitarian
operations in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory, including
East Jerusalem. Israel’s
attacks on the United Nations, its
missions and agencies, the
Secretary-General, and its staff
must not be tolerated.
The Committee Bureau furthermore
calls on the United Nations and all
Member States to reaffirm their
longstanding, principled support for
UNRWA’s critical mandate as
conferred by the General Assembly resolution
302(IV) in 1949.
The Committee Bureau
also warns against Israel’s
exploitation of illegal actions,
such as the UNRWA ban legislation,
to distract the international
community’s attention from the
urgent need to achieve an immediate
and permanent ceasefire, halt the
forced displacement of the
Palestinian people, ensure the rapid
and unimpeded flow of humanitarian
assistance in Gaza, fully implement
General Assembly resolution
ES-10/24, and revive a credible
political process rooted in
international law towards the
achievement of a just and lasting
peace.
END
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