Israel's attacks on UNRWA without solid evidence are unacceptable: Chinese envoy

UNITED NATIONS, April 24 (Xinhua) -- Israel's attacks without solid evidence on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) are unacceptable, a Chinese envoy said Wednesday.

Israel made serious accusations against UNRWA over links to terrorism for which no evidence has yet been shared. China is concerned about this, said Geng Shuang, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations (UN).

"China reiterates that, without solid evidence, it is unacceptable to attack UNRWA maliciously and even make false accusations against the entire UN system," he told the Security Council.

An independent review panel led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has released its final report, which says UNRWA has had in place for many years a significant number of robust mechanisms to ensure UNRWA's neutrality and its ability to respond to and hold those accountable for noncompliance in a timely manner, and UNRWA has far more such mechanisms than any other UN agencies, Geng noted.

"At this point, the debate on UNRWA's neutrality shall come to an end. We urge all countries to resume funding for UNRWA as soon as possible and to refrain from using any pretext to impose additional collective punishment on the population of Gaza," he said.

To guarantee aid delivery by humanitarian agencies is the responsibility of the occupying power. Hunger can not be used as a weapon and relief can not be politicized, he said.

China is deeply concerned about the continued worsening of the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, said Geng.

It has been 200 days since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict. In these 200 days, the world has seen the spread of hunger and famine, the collapse of the health care system, the loss of innocent lives, and the desperate struggle of millions of people on the brink of death, he said.

"There is no justification for prolonging this conflict, and there's no excuse for the killing of civilians. The international community must assemble all efforts to mitigate the disaster, save lives and end the conflict," Geng said.

Security Council Resolutions 2712, 2720 and 2728, and the two International Court of Justice orders on provisional measures all explicitly call for greater humanitarian access. But they have never been effectively implemented and humanitarian assistance continues to encounter various man-made restrictions. If this continues, it will definitely result in more civilian deaths from famine and disease, he said.

"We urge Israel to open all land crossings to guarantee a rapid and safe delivery of humanitarian supplies at scale into Gaza and their safe and orderly distribution within Gaza to those in dire need," he said.

China once again calls on the Security Council to push for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, said Geng.

More than six months of harsh reality has made it abundantly clear that a Gaza under fire does not have the conditions needed for aid delivery. Security Council Resolution 2728, which calls for a cease-fire in Gaza, is indisputably binding, and all member states are obligated to implement it, he said.

"We are gravely concerned about Israel's frequent bombardments of Gaza in recent days. We urge Israel to immediately cease all military operations against Gaza and abandon its offensive plan on Rafah," he said. "Countries with significant influence on Israel should be impartial and play an active role in realizing a cease-fire."

China supports the council in taking further actions to ensure the implementation of Resolution 2728, said Geng.