PRESS RELEASE — HIMAM, the coalition of Jordanian human rights civil
society organizations, has followed, with regret, the rushed announcements
issued by countries funding the UN Relief & Works Agency (UNRWA). This
hasty decision came following an announcement issued by the Israeli occupation
state of the alleged participation of several agency employees in the Hamas
attack last October 7th. To avoid any consequences, the UN agency has
terminated the services of these employees and announced the opening of an
investigation into the matter.
اضافة اعلان
It is dangerous for donor countries to rely on a
mere claim issued by the Israeli intelligence services, which they said was
based on their investigations with detainees belonging to the Hamas movement.
The danger of this step lies in the fact that assuming the existence of honest
confessions issued by detainees, these confessions are illegitimate. By
exposing detainees to torture and extracting confessions from them, these
confessions or testimonies are legally worthless under fair trial standards.
This unprecedented acceleration in taking dangerous decisions
to stop funding the UN agency, based on unproven allegations, and before the
completion of the investigation or confirming the results, constitutes, in
reality, a fatal decision against hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Such
decisions put civilians who depend on UNRWA services for their survival at risk
of death.
We cannot ignore the coincidence of the revelation
of these allegations and decisions with the issuance of the binding ruling by
the International Court of Justice ordering the delivery of aid to civilians in
Gaza. The effect of donor countries' decisions will hinder the implementation
of the court's order. These decisions must be seen within the context of the
constant attack on UNRWA from Israeli officials and public figures and the
claim that the resistance is using its buildings in military battles, the
validity of which has not been proven.
The suspending funding for UNRWA by these countries
comes after Israel killed approximately 150 UNRWA workers, according to the
United Nations data, and these countries did not lift a finger to hold the
Israeli occupying state accountable for that.
The cessation of these countries' support for UNRWA
constitutes a retreat from their responsibilities towards the UN relief agency
and the international community's failure to solve the problem's roots. UNRWA
was created with the mandate to implement Resolution 194, which stipulates the
right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes. Such decisions
constitute a collective punishment of the Palestinians. This measure is
inseparable from the intention of the Israeli occupation state for decades to
abolish UNRWA, as it represents the essence of its occupation of Palestine and
a permanent reminder of it.
HIMAM calls on the countries that announced the
suspension of funding for UNRWA to review their decisions without delay and
wait for the results of an independent investigation to be issued. Defunding
threats to the work of international organizations defeat the purpose of its
existence and leaves it vulnerable to the occupying state's control over it.
These donors must realize that the consequences of
the collapse of UNRWA will hinder its humanitarian response to the Israeli war
on Gaza and will incur a heavy humanitarian price whose consequences cannot be
remedied, especially at this critical stage. Hundreds of thousands of
Palestinians depend on UNRWA to provide shelter and food.
HIMAM warns that these decisions represent a death
sentence for hundreds of thousands of civilians who are suffering from famine
and epidemics.
The hastiness of international donors will also
encourage the Israeli occupation state to create more allegations against other
international organizations such as UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and
others, which it does not want to exist and has been looking for ways to take
revenge on them.
HIMAM warns the international community from being
drawn into any plans aimed at eliminating UNRWA in an attempt to demolish any
international system that contributes to making the lives of Palestinians
possible or serves to support the steadfastness of the Palestinians in their
land.
Disclaimer:
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