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Arab League chief: No substitute for UNRWA in providing services to refugees

CAIRO, Nov 3 (KUNA) -- Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmad Aboul-Gheit affirmed on Sunday that there is no substitute for UNRWA in delivering health and educational services to refugees in its operational areas.
The Arab League stated in a press release that this came during a meeting between Aboul-Gheit and Ahmad Abu Holi, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and head of the Department of Refugee Affairs, at the League's headquarters in Cairo.
The meeting focused on the grave consequences of two recent Knesset decisions to ban UNRWA and its activities and strip it of its privileges as an international agency.
Aboul-Gheit listened to a detailed presentation from the Palestinian official about the expected repercussions of this decision on the lives of around six million Palestinian refugees, particularly more than two million Palestinians in Gaza who have become entirely dependent on UNRWA for food and assistance, in addition to about 300,000 children relying on it for education in the sector.
He stated that the decision goes beyond the usual Israeli criminality as it affects the future of Palestinians, aiming to completely destroy the fabric of Palestinian society and to drain the issue of refugees of its substance while accelerating ongoing scenarios of displacement and ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank.
Aboul-Gheit emphasized that the United Nations must pay attention to the gravity of these Israeli decisions, which set a precedent concerning the work of international organizations and agencies.
He stressed that the UN must protect these organizations and that membership in the UN imposes obligations and responsibilities that Israeli occupation seeks to evade, adding that "Israel should never escape accountability for these decisions." He noted that the Arab League is working in coordination with the Palestinian side and the Arab group in New York to issue a UN resolution that includes a categorical rejection of these unilateral measures taken by the occupying power.
This follows a UN Security Council session that addressed the catastrophic humanitarian situation in northern Gaza and the Knesset's invalid decisions regarding UNRWA on October 30th, which prompted warnings from Security Council members about attempts to dismantle or diminish UNRWA. (end) mfm.onm