A senior Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official on Saturday called on the United States and Canada to abandon plans to temporarily suspend funding for the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA).

“We call on countries that have announced the end of their support for UNRWA to immediately reverse this decision,” Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary general of the PLO, said in a statement cited by Between from the press agency Anadolu, Sunday (28/1/2024).

He estimated that the suspension would have major political and humanitarian consequences, because until now the Palestinian people are very dependent on aid from UNRWA.

“We need maximum support for this international organization and let us not stop supporting and assisting this organization,” he said.

This is why the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Palestinian Expatriates urges these countries to take the decision to suspend aid to UNRWA.

The ministry viewed the move as an attempt to prevent an investigation into UNRWA and a violation of its humanitarian mandate and duties.

Earlier on Saturday (01/27/2024), the United States and Canada announced a temporary suspension of funding to UNRWA, after Israel accused several UNRWA staff members of being involved in the Hamas attack on October 7.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for a “swift” investigation into Israel’s allegations. Indeed, UNRWA is not only the United Nations agency targeted by Israel, but also the World Health Organization (WHO).

Israel has accused the WHO of colluding with Hamas by using Gaza hospitals to support the Palestinian resistance group's military operations. (ant/bill/iss)