Russia urges to investigate Israel's UNRWA accusations before inflicting 'collective punishment'

By Burc Eruygur and Elena Teslova

ISTANBUL/MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged to investigate Israel's accusations that some staffers of the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) collaborated with Hamas in the Oct. 7 attacks before suspending funds for the humanitarian organization.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow following a meeting with his Gambian counterpart Mamadou Tangara, Lavrov said what is happening in Gaza, where Israeli attacks have killed more than 26,000 people, is a "collective punishment prohibited by the international humanitarian law."

"If there are such accusations, we have to clear them out. From the very beginning, we condemned the terrorist attack on Oct. 7 and clearly said that it is necessary to fight terrorism in any of its manifestations with means that do not violate international humanitarian law. What has happened and is happening (in Gaza) is collective punishment, it is prohibited under international humanitarian law," he stressed.

Lavrov said if an investigation is conducted the facts will be known about whether Israel's allegations have any grounds.

"But if the investigation is being cancelled, and instead there will be a collective punishment of the UNRWA and those, to whom it provided assistance, than I believe that this is a wrong decision. I hope, that the UN management will raise these questions in contacts with Israeli representatives," he emphasized.

Several countries including the US, UK, Germany, France, Austria and Japan have suspended funds for the agency established in 1949 to cater to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

It is involved in primary and vocational education, primary healthcare, relief and social services, infrastructure and camp improvement, and emergency response.

The UN agency says it has opened an investigation into the allegations, and has severed ties with those staff members.

- Resolution of problems in ECOWAS through ‘equal, mutually respectful’ dialogue

Lavrov said Moscow expects that problems within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will be resolved through “equal and mutually respectful” dialogue.

His comments come as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger jointly announced their immediate withdrawal from ECOWAS, saying the regional bloc is subservient to “foreign powers” and accusing it of "deviating from its founding ideals."

The Russian foreign minister said he and his Gambian counterpart reviewed the current situation in the Sahara-Sahel region, focusing particularly on the situation in hot spots, including the situation in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad.

“We expressed concern about the growing terrorist threat from jihadist organizations affiliated with the so-called Islamic State and Al-Qaeda,” Lavrov said, adding that the activity of these groups extends to other countries in West Africa.

For his part, Tangara said that the issues resulting in the countries' withdrawal from ECOWAS must be resolved through dialogue.

“Political dialogue is the most powerful tool of diplomacy,” he said, adding that Gambia calls on ECOWAS to engage in “serious dialogue with countries that have expressed their intention to leave the community.”