UN urged to resume aid to Palestinians

“This is an unjustified step from UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency),” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said on Friday. “There is a right of peaceful protest for Palestinian refugees,” he added.
 
On Thursday, dozens of people in Gaza forcefully entered the office of the UNRWA in the blockaded Palestinian territory, calling for the reinstatement of a monthly allowance to poor Palestinian families.
 
The cash allowance has been cut since April 1 due to UNRWA budget cuts.
 
    “We call on UNRWA to reevaluate its position and not to overreact to residents’ protest,” Abu Zuhri stated.
 
 
The UN agency had earlier said in a statement that it fully understood the “impact the decision to suspend cash assistance had on some of our beneficiaries.”
 
It added that the recent wave of protests had forced UNRWA to close many of its depots in the Gaza Strip.
 
The statement further said, “With the situation further compounded by today’s actions, all relief and distribution centers will consequently remain closed until guarantees are given by all relevant groups that UNRWA operations can continue unhindered.”
 
Meanwhile, Abu Zuhri ensured that UNRWA staff members were in no danger. He said Hamas security forces would provide “appropriate conditions for UNRWA’s work.”
 
The Israeli siege on Gaza has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the impoverished Palestinian enclave, having turned the territory into the world’s largest open-air prison.