Nordic Countries ‘Deeply Concerned’ about Israeli Legislation That Would Bar UNRWA from Operating

 A man works to remove an UNRWA-labelled vehicle after it was hit in an Israeli strike, according to Palestinian officials, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, October 23, 2024. (Reuters)
A man works to remove an UNRWA-labelled vehicle after it was hit in an Israeli strike, according to Palestinian officials, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, October 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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Nordic Countries ‘Deeply Concerned’ about Israeli Legislation That Would Bar UNRWA from Operating

 A man works to remove an UNRWA-labelled vehicle after it was hit in an Israeli strike, according to Palestinian officials, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, October 23, 2024. (Reuters)
A man works to remove an UNRWA-labelled vehicle after it was hit in an Israeli strike, according to Palestinian officials, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, October 23, 2024. (Reuters)

The five Nordic countries said Wednesday that they are “deeply concerned by the recent introduction of draft legal bills in the Knesset that, if adopted, would prevent the UNRWA from continuing its operations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza.”

In a joint letter signed by the region’s foreign ministers, they said that if the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees “would no longer be able to exercise its core tasks” it could further destabilize the situation in the region, "and may fundamentally jeopardize the prospects for a two-state solution.”

In the letter, they “strongly urge Israel to ensure continued and unhindered humanitarian access” to Palestinian refugees for the UN body known as UNRWA.



Egypt Says GERD Lacks Legally Binding Agreement

This grab taken from video shows Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022. (AP Photo)
This grab taken from video shows Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022. (AP Photo)
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Egypt Says GERD Lacks Legally Binding Agreement

This grab taken from video shows Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022. (AP Photo)
This grab taken from video shows Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, Ethiopia, Feb. 20, 2022. (AP Photo)

Egypt said Friday that Ethiopia has consistently lacked the political will to reach a binding agreement on its now-complete dam, an issue that involves Nile River water rights and the interests of Egypt and Sudan.

Ethiopia’s prime minister said Thursday that the country’s power-generating dam, known as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), on the Nile is now complete and that the government is “preparing for its official inauguration” in September.

Egypt has long opposed the construction of the dam, because it would reduce the country's share of Nile River waters, which it almost entirely relies on for agriculture and to serve its more than 100 million people.

The more than the $4 billion dam on the Blue Nile near the Sudan border began producing power in 2022. It’s expected to eventually produce more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity — double Ethiopia’s current output.

Ethiopia and Egypt have spent years trying to reach an agreement over the dam, which Ethiopia began building in 2011.

Both countries reached no deal despite negotiations over 13 years, and it remains unclear how much water Ethiopia will release downstream in case of a drought.

Egyptian officials, in a statement, called the completion of the dam “unlawful” and said that it violates international law, reflecting “an Ethiopian approach driven by an ideology that seeks to impose water hegemony” instead of equal partnership.

“Egypt firmly rejects Ethiopia’s continued policy of imposing a fait accompli through unilateral actions concerning the Nile River, which is an international shared watercourse,” Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said in a statement Friday.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in his address to lawmakers Thursday, said that his country “remains committed to ensuring that our growth does not come at the expense of our Egyptian and Sudanese brothers and sisters.”

“We believe in shared progress, shared energy, and shared water,” he said. “Prosperity for one should mean prosperity for all.”

However, the Egyptian water ministry said Friday that Ethiopian statements calling for continued negotiations “are merely superficial attempts to improve its image on the international stage.”

“Ethiopia’s positions, marked by evasion and retreat while pursuing unilateralism, are in clear contradiction with its declared willingness to negotiate,” the statement read.

However, Egypt is addressing its water needs by expanding agricultural wastewater treatment and improving irrigation systems, according to the ministry, while also bolstering cooperation with Nile Basin countries through backing development and water-related projects.