China News Service, United Nations, January 31 (Reporter Wang Fan) The United Nations Security Council held a public meeting on the Palestinian-Israeli issue on January 31. Zhang Jun, China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, spoke at the meeting, calling on the international community to continue to support the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
On the same day, Griffiths, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, made a briefing and stated that the suffering of the people of Gaza is deepening every day, and UNRWA is the core of all rescue operations in Gaza. Some of the agency's employees have been accused of participating in a raid on Israel on October 7 last year, which is being investigated by the United Nations. These accusations should not jeopardize the agency's rescue services to more than three-quarters of Gaza's residents, and the countries concerned must reverse their decision to suspend funding to UNRWA.
Zhang Jun said in his speech that China has taken note of the allegations that UNRWA employees were involved in the attack on October 7 and supports the United Nations in conducting an independent, fair and objective investigation. At the same time, it must be pointed out that relevant cases should not distract attention from the situation in Gaza and efforts to promote a ceasefire and alleviate the humanitarian disaster.
Zhang Jun said that UNRWA has played an indispensable and irreplaceable role in alleviating the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and is the hope for the survival of the 2 million people in Gaza. We must not completely negate the work of the Agency because of the actions of a few individuals, cut off support for the Agency when it is needed most, and cut off the lifeline of the people of Gaza, thus resulting in additional collective punishment of the Palestinian people. China calls on the international community, especially the major donor countries, to put the lives of the Gaza people and the overall situation of humanitarian relief first, reconsider the decision to stop funding, and continue to support the work of the Agency during the investigation.
Zhang Jun said that it has been more than three months since the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, and the war is still raging and the humanitarian disaster is still intensifying. We must push for an immediate ceasefire with the greatest sense of urgency, we must take pragmatic actions to alleviate the humanitarian disaster, and we must unswervingly promote the implementation of the "two-state solution." China calls for greater international and regional diplomatic efforts, reshapes the credible multilateral process, advocates convening an international peace conference with a larger scale, greater scope, and more effectiveness, and promotes the formation of a timetable and roadmap for the implementation of the "two-state solution" as soon as possible. . (over)