This came in a statement before the general discussion of the Fourth Committee’s comprehensive item 49, entitled The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
The statement renewed the UAE’s support for UNRWA and the important efforts it is making to support Palestinian refugees, especially in the Gaza Strip, which is witnessing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, calling for an immediate ceasefire and providing full protection for civilians, and expressing deep sorrow over the heavy loss of civilian lives as a result of the war.
The statement expressed its regret for preventing the entry of food and other basic materials, including medical aid, into the Gaza Strip, with the exception of some small aid shipments, which caused the health sector to collapse and the humanitarian conditions to deteriorate to catastrophic levels.
He noted that this comes at a time when “communications were cut off from the Gaza Strip for the third time in ten days, causing a media blackout, preventing residents from communicating with medical teams, and hampering the work of humanitarian and health agencies in responding to the situation on the ground.”
The statement said: “Based on the UAE’s consistent approach, based on the principles of humanity, since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, it has provided $20 million to the agency to support its humanitarian response to those affected, and this is in addition to providing $35 million to the agency this year to help it respond to the needs of the Palestinians, including refugees in Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank as a result of settler violence and illegal Israeli practices there.”
The statement added that the President of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, directed the launch of a “humanitarian operation under the name “The Gallant Knight 3” to support the brotherly Palestinian people, after also directing another initiative to treat 1,000 children from Gaza in Emirati hospitals, in addition to launching the “Compassion for Gaza” campaign. “To support those affected in light of these difficult humanitarian conditions, as well as establishing an air bridge that has so far transported 200 tons of UAE and United Nations aid to Egypt in preparation for transporting it to the Gaza Strip.
He stressed the importance of allowing UNRWA employees and other humanitarian workers to move in a safe manner, to help those in need and provide the required care, and the necessity of providing full protection to UNRWA workers and other humanitarian agencies and United Nations agencies.
The statement stressed the UAE’s firm, historical and humanitarian position in supporting the brotherly Palestinian people and their legitimate rights to establish their independent state on the borders of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital. This includes finding a just solution for Palestine refugees in a way that guarantees their right to return.
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