The State of Qatar condemned, on Wednesday, the Israeli Knesset (Parliament)’s approval, on first reading, of a draft law classifying the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) as a terrorist organization.

In a statement, the Qatari Foreign Ministry considered the Israeli approval “a flagrant violation of international laws and norms and an extension of the systematic campaign aimed at dismantling the agency at a time when the need for its humanitarian services is increasing due to the disastrous repercussions of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.”

It stressed "the need for the international community to stand firmly in the face of the Israeli plans aimed at liquidating the agency and depriving millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon of its vital services."

It affirmed the State of Qatar's full support for UNRWA, based on its firm and supportive position for the legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, foremost of which is their right to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.