Spain rejects the entry into force of the Israeli Parliament’s laws against UNRWA

Eduardo González The Government of Spain has expressed its rejection of the entry into force of the laws of the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) that prevent the operations of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and has demanded that their application be suspended. “Spain expresses its deepest concern about the impact that this decision will have on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, putting at risk the ceasefire initiated on January 19,” warned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement. “UNRWA is essential and irreplaceable for the lives of the six million refugees to whom it provides essential services, and for regional stability, and Spain firmly supports its work,” it concluded. Last October, the Knesset passed two laws to ban UNRWA's activities in the Palestinian territories and East Jerusalem on the grounds that it is a "terrorist" organization. In this regard, UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini warned the UN Security Council on Tuesday that "the application of the Knesset legislation will increase instability and deepen despair in occupied Palestine, a territory at a critical moment." Lazzarini also recalled that the agency is the largest UN presence in Gaza, with 13,000 troops and 300 facilities, and that its work is "fundamental to supporting a devastated population and the ceasefire." Therefore, he warned that, with the entry into force of the Knesset laws, not only the fate of millions of Palestinians is at stake, but also the ceasefire and the prospects for a political solution that allows for lasting peace and security. “Restricting our operations now, outside of a political process and when trust in the international community is so low, will undermine the ceasefire, sabotage the recovery and political transition in Gaza,” he said. “Full implementation of the Knesset legislation will be disastrous.”

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