The Advisory Commission of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) called on the Israeli government, as the occupying power in the Palestinian territory, to suspend the implementation of Israeli legislation that limits the Agency’s operations in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The committee said in a press statement on Friday that if this legislation is implemented, it will severely impact the humanitarian response in Gaza, could jeopardize the ceasefire, and ultimately undermine prospects for regional stability.

The statement pointed out that, in the midst of collective efforts to enhance the viability and sustainability of the ceasefire, one of the most immediate and urgent tasks of the international community is to alleviate the extremely deteriorating humanitarian situation of civilians in Gaza by providing assistance with the speed and volume required.

The statement stressed that UNRWA has facilitated more than half of the emergency response in Gaza over the past 15 months, and remains vital to the successful implementation of the ceasefire in order to provide humanitarian assistance and education to hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza and 50,000 children in UNRWA schools in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The statement pointed out that UNRWA plays a crucial role not only as a humanitarian agency contributing to the sustainability of the ceasefire, but also as essential to the human and economic development of the Palestinians and to the path towards a permanent political solution.

The statement explained that the committee is convinced that until a just and lasting solution to the plight of Palestinian refugees is reached in accordance with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, UNRWA remains essential in all five fields of the agency's work.