Iran condemns UNRWA funding suspension as ‘endorsement of genocide’
Iran has condemned the suspension of funding by some Western countries for the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), a lifeline for over two million people in besieged Gaza, saying such a move is an endorsement of war crimes and genocide by the Israeli regime.
“Putting pressure and restrictions on the humanitarian activities of UNRWA or hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid to a nation facing the harsh conditions of war and the imminent threat of genocide is essentially nothing but an endorsement of the narrative of a criminal regime accused of committing genocide,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said on Sunday.
The UN and Palestinian officials have called for continued funding for UNRWA’s humanitarian work in Gaza after several Western countries announced funding cuts for the agency over Israeli allegations that some of its staff were involved in the October 7 Al Aqsa Storm Operation against the Israeli regime.
Kanaani said the Israeli accusation against UNRWA was “another malicious act” by the occupying regime to complement its inhumane actions against the Palestinian people, and also to justify the restrictions it has imposed on humanitarian organizations in Gaza.
“It is also an attempt to absolve the Israeli regime of committing unprecedented and horrifying crime of the massacre of around 150 employees of these international institutions, including UNRWA, over the past 113 days,” he added.
Kanaani said, instead of announcing funding cuts for the UN agency, Western countries had better stopped their military assistance and political support for the Israeli regime and its criminal leaders.