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Gaza City– Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip called for the abolition of the agreement between the United States and the United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency, saying that the agreement violated many of their rights.
On Tuesday, dozens of people protested in front of the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), calling for the termination of the cooperation framework, a two-year work plan signed between the US State Department and UNRWA.
They chanted slogans, saying that the framework “abolished the right of refugees to return.”
The protesters also held up banners that read: “We are totally opposed to the agreement between the United States and UNRWA” and “The right to return is the same; we will not give up.”
Cooperation framework It is the 2021-2022 agreement signed between the United States and UNRWA, requiring the resumption of funding to the refugee agency, which was previously suspended by the administration of former US President Donald Trump.
According to the framework signed in July, the United States paid UNRWA an additional $135 million.
“The United States shall not provide any donations to UNRWA unless UNRWA takes all possible measures to ensure that no part of the US donations can be used to provide assistance to any refugee who has received military training as a member of the UNHCR. The so-called Palestine Liberation Army or Any other guerrilla type organization, or engage in terrorist acts,” it said.
The framework also includes “monitoring of Palestine [school] Course content”.
The deal triggered a wave of anger and drew criticism from the Palestinians, who saw it as a “threat” to the rights of Palestine refugees and a “significant change” in UNRWA’s vision.
Security agent
Ahmed Mudalal, a senior member of Islamic Jihad, told Al Jazeera: “The agreement was completely rejected by all Palestinian institutions because it is not in line with the common work of UN agencies for Palestine refugees.
“Under the agreement, UNRWA will act as a security agent for the U.S. state, hunting down employees and refugees who benefit from its services.”
Gaza lawyer Salah Abdulatti (Salah Abdulatti) said the agreement violates the UN convention, the refugee convention and the authority of the agency.
“United Nations agencies have no right to sign contracts at the expense of refugees and use neutrality as an excuse to restrict their freedom of speech,” Abdullati said.
He added that the framework was signed without consultation with the Palestinian Authority or any other Palestinian institution.
Abdullati called the provision of funds to UNRWA “conditional” and added that the move was “blatant blackmail.”
“The agreement will transform the agency from a service agency to an intelligence agency with the goal of providing security information,” Abdullati said.
Baker Abu Safia, a member of the left-wing People’s Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), stated that the United States used to donate one third of the UNRWA budget. One amount was reduced to 365 million U.S. dollars. Cut funds.
“Now, many years from now, the United States will donate $135 million to a dangerous precedent agreement in exchange for UNRWA’s pressure on its staff,” he said.
Absafia said that it is totally unacceptable for the United States to intervene in Palestinian school curricula under the pretext of “inciting violence.”
“The mission of the agency is to maintain the cause of refugees and uphold their rights, not to eliminate them,” he said.
Protests will continue
At the same time, Mahmoud Khalaf, the coordinator of the Joint Refugee Council, stated that the framework stipulates that “to prevent the freedom of speech of its employees on social media platforms and to interfere with Palestinian courses”.
“Unlike agreements reached with UN agencies, [school] The courses should be based on the host country, and this applies to 73 years,” he told Al Jazeera.
According to Khalaf, the agreement also requires UNRWA to provide regular reports on its work to the US State Department and respond to all its inquiries.
“Several provisions contained in the agreement impose the vision of the United States, such as combating terrorism, anti-Semitism and women’s rights,” he said.
Khalaf also stated that the US contribution to UNRWA is voluntary, and therefore, according to UNRWA’s mission principles, it should be unconditional.
In an official letter, the Joint Refugee Commission called on UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini to withdraw the agreement, but it has not received a response.
“The signing of the U.S.-UNRWA framework and additional support shows that we once again have an ongoing partner in the U.S. that understands the need to provide critical assistance to some of the most vulnerable refugees in the region,” Lazarini Said In a statement in July.
Khalaf vowed that the demonstrations against the agreement will continue until it is cancelled.
“We call on the Palestinian Authority and the UNRWA host country to take action to cancel this agreement and not to accept any conditional funding at the expense of the rights of Palestine refugees,” Khalaf said.
“Our protest will continue until this unfair agreement is revoked.”
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