Iran urges Islamic nations to aid Palestine after UNRWA funding halted
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The decision to suspend UNRWA's funding by nine Western countries, under the pretext of Israeli allegations, is deemed regrettable, the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
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Palestinians try to extinguish a fire at a building of a UNRWA vocational training center which displaced people use as a shelter, after being targeted by Israeli tank shill in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024 (AP Photo/Ramez Habboub)
Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Nasser Kanaani on Sunday condemned Israeli accusations leveled against UNRWA staffers, alleging them of involvement with the resistance operation Al-Aqsan Flood.
Kanaani stated that these charges were part of a broader scheme of Zionist efforts aimed at stifling NGO activities in the Gaza Strip.
He further said that the accusations are intended to absolve the regime from the killing of more than 150 NGO employees.
The decision to suspend UNRWA's funding by nine Western countries, under the pretext of Zionist allegations, is deemed regrettable, Kanaani said, while also viewing it as an endorsement of Zionist war crimes that have been substantiated at the ICJ with charges of genocide.
These countries could have opted to halt their military support for the zionist regime instead of cutting humanitarian aid, he added.
Read more: Resistance operations in Gaza continue on Day 114 of genocide
Tehran, through its MFA spokesperson, is calling on Islamic nations to "work towards meeting the needs of the Palestinian people to thwart the pressures exerted on them with the aim of displacement."
The French Foreign Ministry recently stated regarding UNRWA, claiming that "information about the involvement of UNRWA agents in the attacks on October 7 is of exceptional seriousness."
"France has not planned for a new payment in the first quarter of 2024. It will decide, when the time comes, on the course of action in collaboration with the United Nations and key donors, ensuring that all transparency and security requirements for aid are duly considered," the statement added.
UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestine Francesca Albanese wrote in a post on X that the suspension of UNRWA funding came the day after the ICJ's decision concluding that "Israel" is plausibly committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Albanese stated that the countries that suspended their funding for the UN agency "collectively punishing millions of Palestinians at the most critical time, and most likely violating their obligations under the Genocide Convention."
The day after @ICJ concluded that Israel is plausibly committing Genocide in Gaza, some states decided to defund UNRWA, collectively punishing millions of Palestinians at the most critical time, and most likely violating their obligations under the Genocide Convention. https://t.co/fl32DrDeFs
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) January 27, 2024
