UNRWA chief warns agency might halt activities without UN General Assembly intervention

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Wednesday warned that agency's operations might cease without the involvement of the UN General Assembly.

"UNRWA's ability to implement its mandate was under threat," wrote Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini to Philemon Yang, president of the UN General Assembly, in a letter.

"Today, I must inform you that the Agency is under such physical, political, and operational attack-unprecedented in UN history-that implementation of its mandate may become impossible without decisive intervention by the General Assembly," Lazzarini said.

"The consequences for Palestinians, for Israel, and for the region will be grave," he warned.

The letter came following the adoption of bills by the Israeli Knesset (parliament) against UNRWA aimed at preventing it from operating in the occupied Palestinian Territory.

"These bills will not terminate the refugee status of the Palestinians, which exists independently of UNRWA's service provision. They will severely harm their lives and future," he said.

"Today, even as we look into the faces of children in Gaza, some of whom we know will die tomorrow, the rules-based international order is crumbling in a repetition of the horrors that led to the establishment of the UN, and in violation of commitments to prevent their recurrence," said Lazzarini.

He called on member states to take measures to support UNRWA in line with the seriousness of the situation and associated risks.