“The occupying and terrorist Zionists, who have taken hostage the Judaism, will have no place in the region in the future,” said Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who is also the chairman of the International Conference on Palestinian Intifada.
He lauded a recent decision by the United Nations General Assembly to vote in favor of a Palestinians’ self-determination, describing it as a big step toward realizing the Palestinian people’s fundamental rights.
Referring to the Iranian proposal for a national referendum in the territory of Palestine, which is aimed at providing the grounds for the people of Palestine to exercise their right to self-determination, Amir-Abdollahian said, “The world countries and nations have realized that volatility and insecurity, which is threatening Europe nowadays, is the result of the occupation of Palestine and the massacre of its people by the Zionists.”
“The sole way [to realize Palestinian’s rights] is to establish the unified country of Palestine, with al-Quds as its capital,” he stressed.
Last week, the UNGA voted to extend the mandate for a UN agency supporting Palestinian refugees for another three years amid a cash shortfall triggered by a US decision to cut funding for the body by more than half.
The UN’s Fourth Committee on Friday (December 13) approved extending the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) until June 30, 2023, with 169 votes in favor and nine abstentions, while the United States and Israel voted against.
UNRWA was established in 1949 to provide education, health and relief services as well as housing and microfinance assistance to some 5.5 million registered refugees in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, as well as in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
The agency has faced budgetary difficulties since last year after the United States -- its biggest donor -- under the administration of President Donald Trump has taken an increasingly hard-line stance toward Palestine and halted its aid of $360 million to the organization per year.
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