Ahmed Asmar
15 January 2025•Update: 15 January 2025
ANKARA
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa urged the international community on Wednesday to reject all Israeli laws against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
“The Israeli laws against UNRWA undermine Palestinian rights and the two-state solution, and destroy any hope for peace,” Mustafa told an international conference in Oslo, Norway, on advancing a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
In October, the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, passed a law banning UNRWA from operating, which would eventually affect its work in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
The UN views Gaza and the West Bank as an occupied territory. International law requires an occupying power to agree to and facilitate relief programs and ensure food and medical care.
The premier said the Gaza Strip needs a responsible government that is "capable of healing the wounds of the Palestinians" and reintegrating the enclave under the Palestinian government's authority.
"We declare our readiness to fully assume our responsibilities in Gaza and willingness to implement UN Resolution 2735," he added.
On June 10, the UN Security Council adopted a US-drafted resolution backing a proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden for a cease-fire in Gaza.
On Monday, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said the Oslo conference would be held under the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, and would be chaired by Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide.
Over 80 countries and organizations are taking part, including UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Tor Wennesland and UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
The conference in Oslo is the third follow-up meeting since the global alliance was launched in September. Previous meetings were held in Saudi Arabia and Brussels.
The conference comes amid Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza that has killed over 46,600 people, most of them women and children, since Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
The International Criminal Court in November issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
