Doha: Al Raya newspaper affirmed that the State of Qatar has always been a principal supporter of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), noting that the agency's assistance represents a fundamental pillar of the refugees' resilience in the face of difficult conditions and the historical injustice inflicted upon them.
According to Qatar News Agency, the newspaper highlighted Qatar's renewed reaffirmation yesterday of its firm position regarding the pivotal role played by the agency in meeting the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people amid the worsening catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip, where the number of beneficiaries of UNRWA services has exceeded five million refugees inside and outside Palestine.
In this context, Al-Raya drew attention to the efforts made by the State of Qatar to respond to the relief appeals issued by the agency, in a clear message that reflects Qatar's support for the Palestinian people and their cause.
The paper noted that Qatar was the first Arab country to sign a multi-year agreement with UNRWA in 2018 and remains among its largest supporters, with contributions exceeding 49 million US dollars in 2024. Qatar also continues to provide diplomatic and financial support to the UN agency, reaffirming its commitment to the Palestinian people throughout the decades of their displacement.
The editorial also stressed that Qatar will continue, especially in these difficult circumstances, to stand with the Palestinians and support their steadfastness both in their homeland and in refugee camps in neighboring countries.
It said that Qatar believes the Israeli incitement against UNRWA requires regional and international solidarity with the Palestinian people, who are being targeted by the crimes of the occupation, and requires providing them with the necessary assistance at a time when they face the consequences of aggression that has continued for more than two years, resulting in massive destruction and a humanitarian catastrophe beyond description.
The editorial further highlighted Qatar's call on the international community to increase support for the agency, given its direct impact on the lives of Palestinians harmed by the occupation, displaced from their land, and left vulnerable to deprivation, hunger, and poverty.
It added that, instead of assuming responsibility for its crimes, massacres, and acts of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people, Israel continues its bloody war on Palestinian existence, targeting everything that keeps this population alive and connected to its land, at a time when more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed, tens of thousands are missing, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced from the Gaza Strip.
Al-Raya concluded its editorial by stressing the necessity of international solidarity with the Palestinian people and the importance of supporting all international institutions established to provide essential services to them, rather than yielding to Israel's ongoing incitement campaigns against those institutions, which aim to uproot the Palestinian people from their land.