STATEMENT

On the Restoration of Funding to UNRWA

London, 19th July 2024 

In his statement to the House of Commons today, the Foreign Secretary described Palestinians in Gaza as being “trapped in hell on Earth’” . This is not the result of natural disaster but by political design that violates fundamental principles of international law. 

Since October, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been recorded as killed, although a recent estimate by British Medical Journal, The Lancet, places this number far higher at 186,000. 90% of Palestinians in Gaza have now been displaced and every sector of Palestinian life has been targeted - education, health, places of worship and even cultural institutions have been destroyed. The onslaught on Palestinians in Gaza, as South Africa’s legal representative at the ICJ described, “is of a nature that can only be intended to result in the genocidal destruction of that group.”

The UK has not been a neutral bystander as this assault continues. Instead, it has given a green light to Israel’s genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people through its political, diplomatic, and military support, its active attempts to undermine efforts of accountability and even going as far as participating in the collective punishment of Palestinians when it suspended funding to UNRWA. The announcement today by the foreign secretary that funding to UNRWA will be resumed was essential but long overdue. 

Yesterday, the Prime Minister spoke about his commitment to the “dignity of every human being” as a fundamental principle of international law. With every failure of the government to apply international law, the basic dignity of Palestinians is further undermined. 

Today’s historic finding by the ICJ once again underscores the necessity of setting an alternative course. The government must take immediate steps to fulfil its legal and moral duties to the Palestinian people. It should begin by suspending arms sales to Israel, withdrawing the UK’s challenge to the ICC’s jurisdiction, and supporting international efforts to hold Israel accountable for its violations. 

The British Palestinian Committee is an independent organisation working to ensure that British Palestinian perspectives are integral to public discourse and policy making on Palestine.