Jordan deplores Israeli decision to classify UNRWA as terrorist organization

AMMAN, Jordan on Monday condemned the Israeli Knesset's decision to classify the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) as a terrorist organization. The Israeli decision as an "attempt to kill the agency, assassinate it politically and target its symbolism, which affirms the right of Palestinian refugees to return and compensation under the international law," Jordanian Foreign Ministry's Spokesperson Sufyan Qudah said in a press statement. "The ongoing Israeli allegations and measures targeting UNRWA and aiming to kill it and cancel its pivotal and basic role in providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people under its UN mandate represent a blatant violation of international law and Israel's obligations as the occupying power." Qudah noted the UN Agency's role in providing "vital" services to Palestinian refugees in its five areas of operations, especially in Gaza, which is suffering an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe as a result of the ongoing Israeli war since October. He urged the international community to continue providing political and financial support to UNRWA, adding that the Agency "cannot be dispensed with or replaced" until the Palestinian issue is resolved based on the two-state solution by establishing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state along the lines of June 4, 1967. Source: Kuwait News Agency