Ashraf AboArafe
Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid, the official spokesman and Director of the Public Diplomacy Department at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that, on Sunday, January 28, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), held a telephone call.
The official spokesman for the Foreign Ministry stated that Minister Shukri stressed during the call the pivotal role played by UNRWA, in accordance with its UN mandate, in providing basic services to Palestinian refugees, as well as with regard to the huge humanitarian effort that cannot be dispensed with in providing safe haven and providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza in light of the worsening humanitarian situation in the Strip, noting that it is unacceptable for some countries to take decisions to suspend their funding for the agency’s activities at this sensitive time, in what appears to be collective punishment against all of the agency’s workers, who number about 30,000, as well as Children of the Palestinian people, following allegations related to the involvement of a very limited number of agency employees in the events of October 7, allegations that are still subject to a transparent internal investigation and review process within the agency’s agencies.
In the same context, Minister Shukri stressed that attempts to target UNRWA in light of this difficult time, and limit its ability to carry out its tasks in Gaza, exacerbate the dangerous effects of the policy of siege, starvation and collective punishment imposed by Israel on the Palestinians, stressing Egypt’s full solidarity with UNRWA, and providing All aspects of support to ensure its continued provision of vital services to the Palestinians.
For his part, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA expressed his regret for taking the decisions to suspend funding in light of the current humanitarian crisis that the Palestinians in Gaza are suffering from, and its repercussions on the regularity of the agency’s tasks during the coming period, expressing his deep appreciation for the important and vital role that Egypt plays in providing aid to the people. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and Egypt’s support and solidarity with the Agency in the challenges it faces.
