NEW YORK

The Palestinian president's representative to the UN urged the international community on Wednesday to support the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, and pressure Israel to stop starving Gaza's population.

Ziad Abu Amr made the remarks during his speech at an open session of the UN Security Council on UNRWA at the request of Algeria and Jordan.

"We appeal for financial and political support to UNRWA and pressure on Israel not to harm its employees," he said.

"Israel must be firmly pressured to stop starving the Palestinian people and respect UN laws."

Abu Amr noted that "Israeli defamation campaigns against UNRWA are not new and serve to undermine its role in serving Palestinian refugees."

He stressed that "there is no alternative to UNRWA."

UNRWA is "the only international organization that combines international supervision and serving the Palestinian people," he added.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul