President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated this Thursday (15) that Brazil will make a new donation to the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), at a time when several countries, such as the United States, have decided cut funding to the organization.
Lula also said, in a speech at the headquarters of the Arab League, in Cairo, that Brazil maintains its defense of the existence of a sovereign Palestinian state and its admission as a full member of the UN.
“The Brazilian government will make a new contribution of resources to UNRWA. We urge all countries to maintain and reinforce their contributions,” said the president, without mentioning values.
Lula called the suspension of contributions from rich countries to the agency “inhumanity and cowardice”, announced after Israel accused the agency of covering up employees who would work for Hamas.
“At a time when the Palestinian people need support most, rich countries have decided to cut humanitarian aid to the UN Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA). The recent allegations against agency employees need to be properly investigated, but they cannot paralyze it,” said Lula.
“Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon will also be left destitute. We must put an end to this inhumanity and cowardice. Enough of collective punishment,” he added.
Israel accuses 13 UNRWA employees of participating in Hamas attacks on Israel in October, and has presented a dossier accusing 190 agency employees of links to the group. The accusations led the top 10 donors — including the United States, the main donor — to suspend funding for the agency.
The lack of money could suspend the entire operation of UNRWA at the end of this month, according to its leaders.
Lula also once again criticized Israel's military response in Gaza. Reaffirming that Hamas' attack on the country is indefensible and was harshly criticized by Brazil, the president classified Israel's response as “disproportionate” and indefensible.
“It is urgent to stop the killing. Brazil's position is clear: There will be no peace until there is a Palestinian State, within mutually agreed and internationally recognized borders, which include the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital”, he stated.
“The decision on the existence of an independent Palestinian state was taken 75 years ago by the United Nations. There are no more excuses to prevent Palestine from joining the UN as a full member.”
Earlier, speaking alongside the president of Egypt, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the president had already criticized Israel, stating that the country seems to have “the primacy of not complying” with any decision of the United Nations.
“What is regrettable is that the multilateral institutions that were created to help solve these problems do not work. That’s why Brazil is committed to making the necessary changes to global governance bodies,” she said.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
