Juliette Touma, the communications director for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, has told Israeli daily Haaretz that halting the agency’s operations could lead to a total collapse of food and humanitarian aid distribution for Gaza’s two million residents.
She emphasised that Israel has no alternative for its humanitarian activities in the besieged enclave.
“The Israeli public has fallen victim to a campaign spreading false information about UNRWA,” Touma said. “The assumption that if we close UNRWA we will eliminate the Palestinian refugee problem is a naive concept.”
Israel has officially notified the UN of its decision to cut ties with UNRWA. In a statement on Monday, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it cancelled a cooperation agreement from 1967, which provided the legal basis for the country’s relations with the refugee agency.
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