Rights groups: Halting UNRWA funding is ‘continuation of genocide’

Palestinian human rights organisations yesterday warned that halting financial support for UNRWA is “a continuation of the genocide in the Gaza Strip,” which would lead more than two million Palestinians in the Strip to “die of starvation.”

This came in a press conference held by representatives of Palestinian human rights organisations, most notably the Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

The Director of the ICHR Gaza Office, Jamil Sarhan, said stopping UNRWA funding is a “political decision” not a professional one, and it is based on Israeli intelligence that has not been verified and cannot be considered a real legal basis.

“How can the Palestinian people be punished by denying aid to them due to the accusation levelled against a small number of employees in this case?” he asked. “These are weak and unconvincing justifications that constitute sanctions against the Palestinian people, and a continuation of the genocide practiced by the occupation forces in Gaza,” he added.

Sarhan called on the countries that stopped funding UNRWA to “rescind their decision and move away from the approach that supports genocide in Gaza.”

READ: UNRWA funding cuts threaten Palestinian lives across the region, say NGOs

He indicated that according to data and information obtained by human rights organisations participating in the conference, Israeli occupation forces are disappearing Palestinians from Gaza and holding them in undeclared places and subsequently torturing them.

Sarhan said the Israeli forces leave detainees in the extreme cold, naked and in places with police dogs. “They torture them in violation of all international standards and do not provide them with any treatment or appropriate or sufficient food,” he added.

Director of Monitoring & Awareness at Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, Samir Zaqout, said:

Stopping UNRWA funding means forcing people to die of hunger in Gaza.

He called on all countries of the world to implement the decisions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to stop the genocide in Gaza.

“Since the Court of Justice’s decision on Friday, about 400 martyrs have fallen in Gaza, and the [Israeli] occupation forces continue their policy of targeting civilians, destroying civilian facilities, blockading hospitals, and preventing fuel supplies and the movement of ambulance crews,” he said.

Zaqout said Israel “is continuing the crime of genocide in Gaza and has not stopped it despite the decision of the International Court.”

READ: UNRWA: Bond UK urges government to continue funding for Palestinian refugees