UNRWA chief lauds UN resolution backing agency
Commissioner-General of UNRWA Philippe Lazzarini welcomes the UN General Assembly’s vote to support the agency.
“159! The highest number of support votes ever for UNRWA at the UN General Assembly! And 158 votes for an immediate ceasefire,” Lazzarini wrote on X.
“It’s time the fighting stops in Gaza, hostages released, aid to flow in, UNRWA to maintain lifesaving + development services. No alternative to UNRWA now.
In October, the Israeli government banned UNRWA from operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
But the resolution on Wednesday called on Israel “to abide by its international obligations, respect the privileges and immunities of UNRWA and uphold its responsibility to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip”.
Palestine slams Paraguay’s decision to move embassy to Jerusalem
Palestinian Foreign Ministry rebuked Paraguay for relocating its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, calling the decision a “violation of international law”.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its condemnation of this decision taken by the President of Paraguay, standing on the wrong side of history and rewarding the Israeli occupation for its continued commission of genocide against the Palestinian people,” the ministry wrote in a statement on X.
The ministry said Paraguay’s decision was in “complete contradiction” with its decision to recognise the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital on January 28, 2011.
It added that Paraguay ‘s President Santiago Pena’s move did not “give any importance to the honourable history recorded by the struggles of the peoples of Latin America to defend the values of justice and peace and to combat the concept of colonialism, oppression and racism”.
The ministry said it would take the appropriate “diplomatic, legal and political measures” to prevent the changing status of Jerusalem.
Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and subsequently annexed it in 1980. Earlier this year, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is unlawful.
Palestinian PM discusses Gaza reconstruction with EU official
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa spoke to EU Commissioner for Mediterranean Affairs Dubravka Suica about the situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reports.
During a phone call, Mustafa called for more international pressure to stop Israel’s attacks and to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza.
He stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation with the EU Commission for Mediterranean Affairs for Gaza’s reconstruction and the need for international coordination to mobilise resources to rebuild areas devastated by Israeli attacks, Wafa said.
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