DPA condemns Israeli designation of UNRWA as terrorist Organisation

AMMAN — The Department of Palestinian Affairs (DPA), together with the camp services committees, advisory bodies and community leaders, on Tuesday condemned the Israeli Knesset's decision to designate the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as a “terrorist organisation”.

The move is seen as an attempt to politically undermine the agency and its symbolic role in upholding the rights of Palestinian refugees to return and receive compensation under international law.

Director-General of the DPA Rafiq Khirfan underlined UNRWA's vital role in providing services to Palestinian refugees and improving their living conditions since the Nakba, in its five areas of operation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Israel's efforts to target and discredit UNRWA are as unaccepted, he said.

Khirfan also stressed the need for the international community to continue its political and financial support for UNRWA to enable it to continue its vital humanitarian mission until a solution to the Palestinian cause is achieved through a two-state solution that ensures the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on the 4 June 1967 borders.

Denouncing the Israeli Knesset's approval of a proposal opposing the establishment of a Palestinian state, he described the move as a flagrant violation of international law. 

Khirfan also criticised Israel's defiance of international resolutions and its war against Gaza, saying that such a proposal denies Palestinians their right to a homeland and destabilises regional security and stability.

Khirfan stressed the “firm” position of His Majesty King Abdullah on the Palestinian cause, reiterating that the two-state solution, with the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 4 June 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital, is essential to achieve lasting security and stability in the region.