• U.S., UK others temporarily halt humanitarian funding
Palestinian Ambassador to Nigeria, Abdullah Mohammed Shawesh, yesterday, urged immediate ceasefire to the Israel-Hamas war, saying two women, every hour, and children die daily.
Addressing a media briefing, the envoy demanded investigation into what happened not only on October 7, but also incidents that occurred on October 5 and 6. Shawesh equally called for humanitarian aid for Gaza people in the face of humongous starvation.
The diplomat pleaded that all hostages should be freed, imploring that the African Union (AU) should be made a member of a commission of enquiry to probe the imbroglio.He maintained that it was erroneous to allude that the crisis has a religious undertone.
The ambassador stated that it is in the interest of all for the war to end amid justice and respect for international laws. For him, no one is safe until everyone is made safe.
Secretary General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, in his welcome address, stated that religion is insignificant in the ongoing crisis, advising that the issue should be viewed from the humanity and humanitarian prisms.
According to him, though NSCIA organised the interactive session due to the humanitarian crisis that the war has birthed, he maintained that those imputing religious colouration have limited understanding of the whole situation.
MEANWHILE, several countries, at the weekend, temporarily halted their funding of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) owing to allegations that 12 employees were involved in the massacre.
Its Commissioner General, Philippe Lazzarini, in a statement, observed: “Nine countries have, as of today, temporarily suspended their funding to UNRWA.
“These decisions threaten our ongoing humanitarian work across the region, including and especially in the Gaza Strip.” The aid organisation runs shelter for more than one million internally displaced persons and provides food and basic medical care to most of the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip.
“Our humanitarian operation, on which two million people depend as a lifeline in Gaza, is collapsing,” Lazzari wrote on Saturday evening on the online platform X (formerly Twitter). He said he was shocked that such decisions were being made based on the presumed behaviour of a few people.
“Palestinians in Gaza did not need this additional collective punishment.
“This stains all of us,” Lazzarini added.
Important donors such as the United States, United Kingdom and Germany decided to temporarily halt funding because 12 of the organisation’s several thousand employees in the Gaza Strip were allegedly involved in the October 7 attacks. They were dismissed immediately. Lazzarini had announced that Israel had provided his organisation with information implicating UNRWA employees in the attacks.
He and United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterre, expressed horror at the allegations, saying if proven, those involved would face criminal prosecution, even as Israel’s Foreign Minister seeks Lazzarini’s resignation.
