The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States (Palestine and Occupied Arab Territories Sector) condemns the Israeli occupation Knesset's approval of a law mandating cutting electricity and water supplies from the offices of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), a measure that falls within the framework of the sustained targeting of the Agency over recent years.
The General Secretariat affirms that this law constitutes a continuation of the illegal legislation issued by the Israeli occupation Knesset to prohibit UNRWA's operations in the occupied Palestinian territory. Such measures represent a blatant violation of the privileges and immunities of United Nations organisations and a flagrant challenge to the United Nations General Assembly resolution concerning the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on Israel's obligations towards the United Nations, international organisations, and other states in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.
The General Secretariat warns that this law, which entered into force immediately upon its approval, will have catastrophic repercussions and will undermine UNRWA's ability to carry out its mandated functions in providing indispensable basic services to Palestinian refugees in the occupied Palestinian territory—services for which there is no alternative—particularly in the Gaza Strip, as well as its essential role in reconstruction efforts.
The General Secretariat calls upon the international community, including states, bodies and institutions, to shoulder its legal and moral responsibilities and to confront Israeli decisions and practices targeting UNRWA, including through the adoption of punitive measures against the occupying power to compel it to reverse these laws and comply with international law and the resolutions of international legitimacy.
