Erdogan says UNRWA to open office in Turkey, calls for more support for agency
The United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA will open an office in Ankara, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, urging Muslim countries to give the agency more support after Israel banned it.
Israel last year banned UNRWA, saying it had employed members of Palestinian militant group Hamas who took part in the October 2023 attacks on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
Addressing foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, Erdogan said opening an Ankara UNRWA office would deepen Turkey's support for the agency.
"We must not allow UNRWA, which plays an irreplaceable role in terms of taking care of Palestinian refugees, to be paralysed by Israel. We expect our organisation and each member state to provide financial and moral support to UNRWA to thwart Israel's games," Erdogan said.
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