"In the midst of all the upheaval, UNRWA -- more than ever -- is indispensable," Xinhua reported, citing Antonio Guterres's remarks among the reporters at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday.
The UN chief said he has written directly to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his concern about the draft legislation.
He underlined, "Such a measure would suffocate efforts to ease human suffering and tensions in Gaza, and indeed, the entire Occupied Palestinian Territory."
"It would be a catastrophe in what is already an unmitigated disaster," he said.
Guterres said that operationally, the legislation would likely deal a terrible blow to the international humanitarian response in Gaza, as UNRWA's activities are integral to that response.
"It is not feasible to isolate one UN agency from the others," he said.
Warning that the measure would effectively end coordination to protect UN convoys, offices, and shelters serving hundreds of thousands of people, Guterres said that without UNRWA, the delivery of food, shelter, and health care to most of Gaza's population would grind to a halt; Gaza's 660,000 children would lose the only entity that is able to re-start education, risking the fate of an entire generation; and many health, education and social services would also end in the occupied West Bank.
If approved, such legislation would be diametrically opposed to the UN Charter and in violation of Israel's obligations under international law, the UN chief pointed out, adding that "national legislation cannot alter those obligations."
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established in December 1949 to carry out direct relief and work programs for Palestine refugees. When the agency began operations in 1950, it was responding to the needs of about 750,000 Palestine refugees, and today, some 5.9 million Palestine refugees are eligible for UNRWA services.
AMK/PR