The United International locations Ease and Works Company (UNRWA) well-known mentioned that Israelis two times prepared hearth to the fringe of the company’s headquarters in East Jerusalem on Thursday.
UNRWA Commissioner-Normal Philippe Lazzarini mentioned that each UNRWA and alternative U.N. company workforce have been provide when the incidents took place.
He mentioned deny casualties took place amongst U.N. workforce, however the fires led to “extensive” injury to the compound’s outside branch.
“Our director with the help of other staff had to put out the fire themselves as it took the Israeli fire extinguishers and police a while before they turned up,” Lazzarini mentioned in a Thursday publish at the social media platform X.
Lazzarini mentioned the compound shall be closed “until proper security is restored.”
The U.N. showed the incident on X, writing, “Humanitarians are #NotATarget.”
Israel has criticized UNRWA in contemporary months, accusing one of the UNRWA’s workforce of being concerned within the Oct. 7 terrorist assault on southern Israel that killed round 1,200 Israelis.
An isolated record, exempt in April, didn’t in finding that UNRWA used to be compromised by way of out of doors teams or had systemic neutrality failure. Former French Overseas Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna, who led the probe, mentioned the company has “room for improvement” and does have some neutrality problems, however the mechanisms of the company are “elaborate.”
UNRWA has been an crucial useful resource for Palestinians in Gaza because the company supplies meals, safe haven, drugs and alternative provides.
Lazzarini mentioned that “Israeli extremists” were protesting on the compound for the occasion two months. This past, the protest used to be “violent,” and stones have been thrown at U.N. workforce.
“Over the past months, UN staff have regularly been subjected to harassment and intimidation. Our compound has been seriously vandalized and damaged,” he mentioned on X. “On several occasions, Israeli extremists threatened our staff with guns.”
“It is the responsibility of the State of Israel as an occupying power to ensure that United Nations personnel and facilities are protected at all times,” he mentioned.
For the original information, climate, sports activities, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
