Arab countries welcomed the decision of the United Nations General Assembly, which calls on the International Court of Justice to issue a legal advisory opinion regarding Israel’s ban on the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
This came in statements issued on Friday by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the League of Arab States.
The Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the decision, noting that “its adoption by a majority of 137 votes reflects a broad international rejection of the decisions of the Israeli occupation authorities to ban UNRWA activities.”
Qatar warned that disrupting UNRWA’s activities would lead to “dangerous humanitarian and political consequences, especially depriving millions of Palestinians of necessary services in Gaza, the West Bank and neighboring countries, as well as liquidating the issue of Palestinian refugees and their right to return.”
In a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also welcomed the decision, considering that it reflects an international consensus on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and establish their independent state, and Riyadh appreciated the positive positions of the countries that supported the decision.
The UAE also expressed its support for the UN resolution, according to a statement from its mission to the United Nations.
The statement confirmed that the UAE co-sponsored the resolution and voted in favor of it, stressing the importance of compliance with international law throughout the occupied Palestinian territory.
For his part, Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, praised the vote, which he described as “large” in favor of the resolution, considering that it reflects international public opinion rejecting Israel’s attempts to “end the role of UNRWA.”
Aboul Gheit said, “The decision reflects in particular the deep concern that humanitarian response operations in Gaza will collapse completely if UNRWA’s role in the Strip is ended, as Israel desires.”
On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on UNRWA affirming “full support for the agency’s mandate in all its fields of work, that is, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the occupied Palestinian territories.”
The General Assembly resolution denounced the ban legislation adopted by the Israeli Knesset on October 28, 2024, and called on the Israeli government to “abide by its international obligations and respect the privileges and immunities of the agency.”
Israel claims that UNRWA employees support the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which was denied by the agency, which the United Nations confirmed its commitment to neutrality.
It is noteworthy that the implementation of Israeli legislation will mean the cessation of UNRWA’s work in the occupied Palestinian territories, which means a further deepening of the process of starvation of the Palestinians and the deterioration of their current tragic conditions.
With American support, Israel has been committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza since October 7, 2023, resulting in more than 152,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing persons, amid massive destruction and famine that killed children and the elderly.
Tel Aviv continues its massacres, ignoring two arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court on November 21, against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant, on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinians in Gaza.