Adnan Abu Hasna, spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), confirmed that “the agency operates under a mandate from the United Nations that is renewed every 3 years, and will not receive a mandate from Israel because it is not affiliated with it and does not operate under its orders, so the agency will continue its work and will not stop.”

According to the official website of UNRWA, Abu Hasna said in a statement published on the official website of the agency on Tuesday that one of the reasons that prompted Israel to suspend the agency’s work in East Jerusalem is that “it believes that by liquidating the agency, the Palestinian refugee issue will be liquidated, as well as the political solution and the two-state solution, which is what its officials have stated,” noting that UNRWA is a lifeline for Palestinian refugees, and the Israeli decision will have disastrous consequences for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

He explained that Israel has a long history of contradictions and hidden hostility with the agency, but today the issue has become more serious and dangerous and has become involved in a legislative issue for the first time since the agency was established. The Israeli government has also tried in recent months to replace UNRWA with some small organizations, while the agency has more than 30,000 employees in the Middle East, including 13,000 in Gaza.

He pointed out that UNRWA is an element of security and stability in the region and operates in 5 countries, and the system will be affected in the event of its absence because there is no alternative to it, stressing that in the concept of regional security and stability linked to humanitarian operations, the absence of the agency will have a serious impact.

It is noteworthy that the Israeli Knesset had approved a law yesterday evening, Monday, preventing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from operating inside Israel.