The United Nations General Assembly has voted to endorse findings by the International Court of Justice that allegations of Hamas infiltration of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA, are not substantiated.
The UN also backed the ICJ’s declaration, which claims that questioning UNRWA’s neutrality lacks evidence.
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The UN member states voted overwhelmingly on Friday in support of this resolution, which was tabled in Norway.
The resolution is also demanding that Israel stop restricting humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, stop attacking UN facilities, and comply with international law in line with its obligations as an occupying power.
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The resolution also calls on Israel to lift restrictions on humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip, to cease attacks on UN facilities, and to comply with international law, in line with its obligations as an occupying power.
Al Jazeera reported that 139 countries voted in support of this resolution. Only 12 voted against, including Israel and the US. 19 countries abstained. PREMIUM TIMES reports that Nigeria is one of the 139 countries that voted in support of the resolution.
The UN General Assembly’s vote followed the ICJ ruling in October that Israel has failed to provide evidence that the agency worked for Hamas.
“The court finds that Israel has not substantiated its allegations that a significant part of UNRWA’s employees are ‘members of Hamas … or other terrorist factions’,” said ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa.
The UN court also declared that Israel has an obligation to ensure the “basic needs” of the population in Gaza are met.
In a statement made following the vote, the UNRWA commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, described the UN verdict as a strong endorsement of the agency’s neutrality.
“This vote is an important sign of support for UNRWA from the overwhelming majority of the international community,” he said in a post on X on Friday.
Mr Lazzarini said the ICJ had made clear that everything possible must be done to facilitate UNRWA’s humanitarian operations, rather than hinder or obstruct them.
“UNRWA is the key humanitarian actor in the occupied Palestinian territory, & everything must be done to facilitate our work, not hinder or prevent it,” he wrote.
He urged UN Member States to continue supporting the agency’s work in Gaza, where humanitarian conditions have deteriorated sharply amid ongoing hostilities.
“I urge member states to continue supporting our efforts to respond to the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza & expand our critical public health and education services,” he added.
Israel’s attack on the UNRWA
UNRWA is the biggest UN agency operating in Gaza. It employs some 13,000 people there and is key to humanitarian efforts for thousands of Palestinians.
The vote signals broad political support for UNRWA among UN Member States, amid sustained scrutiny of the agency’s operations during the war in Gaza.
Israel has long accused UNRWA of lacking neutrality and of being infiltrated by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.
The agency has, however, repeatedly denied, saying it operates under strict UN rules.
Last year, Israel banned the agency from operating within Israel and occupied East Jerusalem. It also prohibited interaction between UNRWA employees and Israeli officials, impeding the agency’s ability to operate in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Almost all of Gaza’s population of more than two million people are dependent on aid and services from the agency.
On Monday, Israeli forces raided the agency headquarters in East Jerusalem, seized items and replaced the UN flag with Israel’s flag.
Reacting to the UN vote, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, insisted that the UNRWA was a “hotbed for terrorism.”
Mr Damon accused the assembly of passing a resolution that compels Israel to cooperate with terrorism.
“That will not happen,” he wrote in a post on X.
“We will not forget the crimes against humanity committed by UNRWA workers on October 7th. We will not forget that an UNRWA ״social worker״ kidnapped Yonatan Samerano’s lifeless body to Gaza.
“For the sake of peace in the world, UNRWA must go,” he added.
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