Novo turns to the PGR against Lula to obtain funds for the agency, which is accused of supporting Hamas

The President stated that he would make another donation to UNRWA, a United Nations agency; Party accuses the promotion of “terrorism”.

The Novo Party submitted a criminal report to the PGR (Attorney General's Office) on Friday (February 16, 2024) against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) for possible government donations to UNRWA (United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees). The company is suspected of collaborating with Hamas in the attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Here is the full document (PDF 180 kB).

The party criticizes Lula for saying that the government would provide resources for UNRWA. “In this way, the Honorable President of the Republic, unless he has better knowledge, committed the crime of terrorism by offering, requesting and investing financial resources to finance the entity that operated as a sideline, even in Eventual Nature, the condition of the participant in the commission of terrorist crimes committed by the terrorist group Hamas,” the lawsuit says.

In January, more than ten countries, including the United States and France, stopped transferring funds to UNRWA after the organization's representatives were accused by Israel of helping Hamas attack the country on October 7, 2023.

Nevertheless, Lula announced financial support for the company earlier this month. “The recent allegations against UNRWA staff must be properly investigated, but they cannot paralyze it,” the PT member said in a speech at the Palestinian embassy, ​​where he was honored at a dinner. Read the full speech (PDF 39 kB).

This week, in a speech at an extraordinary meeting of the League of Arab States Council of Representatives in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, the PT member called the suspension of donations to UNRWA “inhumanity” and “cowardice.”

“At a time when the Palestinian people need support most, rich countries are deciding to cut humanitarian aid to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. The recent allegations against agency employees must be properly investigated, but they cannot paralyze them. Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon will also remain destitute. We must put an end to this inhumanity and cowardice. Enough of collective punishment,” Lula said.

In response, Novo President Eduardo Ribeiro says Lula's comments are reprehensible and that Lula's government has difficulty classifying Hamas as a “terrorist group.”

“Not content with turning our foreign policy into an international joke without measure or credibility, Lula decided to cross a very dangerous line by increasing donations to UNRWA after everything about his ties to Hamas came to light. Since the beginning of the conflict, Lula has never made a secret of his fondness for terrorists, which in itself is morally reprehensible. But if you go one step further and decide to finance it indirectly with public money from the Brazilian people, it is no longer just reprehensible, it becomes a crime,” Ribeiro said.

CORRECTION

February 17, 2024 (7:19 p.m.) Contrary to what was published in this post, Lula is affiliated with PTand not too PL. The text has been corrected and updated.