UN agency for Palestinian refugees announces closure of its Jerusalem offices amid Israeli attacks
The headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in East Jerusalem has had to close its doors due to attacks by Israeli citizens who set fire to the outside of the building on two occasions. The agency’s own officials have been forced to put out the flames, as the police and firefighters took a long time to arrive, according to the testimony that the agency’s general commissioner, Philippe Lazzarini, has published on his profile on the social network Twitter).
It is the second time that it has happened in a week, he added, which is why Lazzarini has made the decision to close those offices until the authorities offer them the security they require. This is the latest incident in several months of harassment of staff, gun threats, protests, stone throwing and other attacks. The commissioner general also asks that those responsible be investigated and punished, while pointing out as the instigator a municipal official from Jerusalem whom he does not name.
His words are accompanied by a video in which Israeli citizens can be heard celebrating the incident, which “caused great damage” although not victims, with armed men. They asked to burn the United Nations.
“This is a scandalous fact. Once again, the lives of UN personnel were at serious risk,” lamented Lazzarini. “In light of this second egregious incident in less than a week, I have made the decision to close our complex until adequate security is restored,” he added.
Everything occurs in the midst of a smear campaign led by the Government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which accuses UNRWA employees without presenting evidence of being part of the Hamas network that murdered 1,200 people in Israeli territory on October 7, when the war started. The Israeli response has left almost 35,000 dead in Gaza since then.
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