UNRWA funding halt: ‘One of the most irresponsible and inhumane strategic moves’ that any state could make
My live interview with @skynews on Western funding cuts to @unrwa at a time of deepest need, bombings in Yemen, drone strikes in Jordan, growing regional instability in the Middle East and ICJ ruling.
Some quotes from my responses:
"I don't think it could get any worse for the… pic.twitter.com/B5ERcLFlhh
— Dr. Jennifer Cassidy (@OxfordDiplomat) January 28, 2024
Dr. Jennifer Cassidy: “I don’t think it could get any worse for the people of Gaza right now. The aid trucks, despite the ICJ ruling, that aid must be allowed into Gaza, or not being allowed in. The world health organisation and the world Food program has stated that 80 to 90% of the hungriest people in the world right now are in Gaza. And we know that this is not a famine, the aid trucks are there outside with food, and supplies and are not being allowed in. So we are seeing deaths, not only by carpet bombing, snipers and shootings, but never seen death by the systematic starvation..
… regarding the bombing in Yemen, you have to question Western governments, that they could act with such speed, and such capacity, when commercial interests were being attacked. They could bomb and go in immediately when this was happening, but yeah when lives are at stake, and we are seeing the death of now over 30,000 people in Gaza, we still can’t get unified action by Western states. Everything that we are seeing Western nations say, that they don’t want more and instability in the Middle East, and this to spill out further into the region. Their rhetoric is not in anyway, matching their actions we’re saying on the ground.”
The @CIJ_ICJ found that Israel was plausibly committing genocide, so the U.S. suspends its funding of @UNRWA, the agency responsible 4 Palestinian refugees.Rather than suspend its weapons transfers 2 Israel, it enhanced its genocidal campaign by helping starve Palestinians #Gaza
— Noura Erakat (@4noura) January 28, 2024