RIYADH — Saudi Arabia on Tuesday denounced strongly Israeli parliament Knesset's banning of UNRWA's humanitarian activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that Saudi Arabia expressed condemnation and denunciation in the strongest terms of the Israeli Knesset's adoption of two draft laws aimed to ban the activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the occupied Palestinian territories, the Saudi Press Agency reported. "This act is a flagrant violation of international law and the rules of international legitimacy, in light of the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe facing the Palestinian people," the ministry said. Saudi Arabia reiterated its categorical rejection of the continuous and systematic practices of the Israeli occupation authorities through politically and militarily targeting the UN agencies and its relief organizations. "This constitutes part of its persistence in committing crimes of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people and erasing the Palestinian identity, apart from stifling efforts to achieve comprehensive and just peace," the ministry said. Saudi Arabia renewed its support and solidarity with UNRWA in its humanitarian mission to provide relief to Palestinian refugees in all areas, especially since the agency is one of the outcomes of the Security Council Resolution 194 of 1948, which is the legal and material basis to support the right of return for the Palestinian refugees.
