UNRWA work and mandate in ‘jeopardy’, Guterres warns

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) continues to operate under “extraordinary pressure”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday. Speaking at the annual ministerial meeting on the agency's work during High-Level Week in New York, the UN chief maintained that nearly 400 members of UNRWA’s workforce in Gaza have been killed, with hundreds of premises in the Occupied Palestinian Territory made “inaccessible, severely damaged, or utterly destroyed”.“These actions are wholly unacceptable and inconsistent with Israel’s obligations under international law, including the UN Charter,” he said. In a highly challenging environment, he said, UNRWA provides essential public services to Palestinians, however, its work and entire mandate from the General Assembly is now in “jeopardy”. Nearly two years ago, the Israeli Knesset passed legislation banning the UN agency from operating on Israeli territory – which included East Jerusalem – and cut off all cooperation between Israeli officials and UNRWA.The Israeli Government seized and began demolition of UNRWA’s main compound in Jerusalem last January. The UN and multiple States maintain the punitive laws pass...