#philippe lazzarini

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HEAD OF UNRWA, PHILIPPE LAZZARINI, ISSUES STATEMENT ON CALLS TO DISMANTLE UNRWA

In statement to the international media, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, called statements from Israel calling for the dismantling of UNRWA "short-sighted" and "deeply concerning".

During a two hour-long briefing with relevant United Nations member-states, Lazzarini discussed the situation in the city of Rafah where Israeli occupation forces plan an immenent invasion of the southern Gaza city.

"Basically, we were talking about the situation in Rafah, which is deeply, deeply concerning and, as you know, people are anxious and in fear of a possible large-scale military operation," Lazzarini said in his statement.

"If this military operation takes place, the question is, 'where will the civilians go?'" Lazzarini asked, adding that there is "no safe place in Rafah anymore."

The largest concern, according to Lazzarini, is that the number of civilians killed and wounded as a result of an Israeli invasion of Rafah could increase significantly, once again, in a conflict where more than 100'000 casualties have been reported and thousands more civilians remain trapped under the rubble of their homes.

Lazzarini pointed to the massive civilian population that's been packed into Rafah city, where a sea of hundreds of thousands of tents have been set up to house nearly 1.3 million displaced Palestinians.

Turning to Israeli and Western countries' demands to dismantle and defund UNRWA, Lazzarini said he discussed the allegations that 12 members of UNRWA staff directly or indirectly participated in the events of October 7th, 2023, when the Palestinian resistance broke free from the outdoor prison that is Gaza to assault Israeli military outposts and illegal settlements.

Lazzarini said he reminded member-states of the actions UNRWA has taken since the accusations surfaced, including the termination of the accused contractors and the initiating of an investigation.

Lazzarini said he called for cooperation in the investigation and reminded members of the utmost importance that the Israeli entity also cooperates "so that we do have more than the allegations which have been shared with me."

Additionally, the UNRWA chief commissioned a review of risk management systems, in particular when dealing with "neutrality issues".

"All these allegations about use of social media, about the tunnel, about weapons, about political affiliation - all this needs to be reviewed to see how proactive the agency is in preventing, first, but [also] once an allegation happens, how do we respond to this?"

The UNRWA Secretary-general said he expects the investigation and review to take place over the next couple of months, adding that it will begin "tomorrow and as an agency, we remain committed to implement[ing] its recommendations."

Lazzarini also brought up Israel's recent allegations that Hamas tunnels were found 20-meters under UNRWA headquarters, pointing to his conversations with member-states in which he called for a board of inquiry.

"We need to look at all the situations where UN premises have been blatantly disrespected," Lazzarini said, adding that "since the beginning of the war, more than 150 of our installations have been hit."

"We know that some installations have been completely destroyed. Hundreds of people have been killed, thousands have been injured, and all this needs to be investigated independently, together with the allegation of a tunnel."

Lazzarini went on to warn about the severe impact of defunding and dismantling the UNRWA, calling the idea "short-sighted" and said the impact would not be only in the short-term.

It's not just weakening our collective ability to respond to the humanitarian crisis at a time, I want to remind, when the ICJ has asked [for] this response to be scaled up. At the same time, calls are here to weaken it," Lazzarini cautioned.

The UNRWA chief warned that the real impact is not only in the now, but is also during what he described as the “transition phase” – the "long in-between days before the end of active military hostilities and the day after, when there is, on the table, a solid political package."

"And we all know that this period can be extremely painful; can be a period of misery. It's a period during which no one really invests in the Gaza Strip," the UNRWA Secretary-general added.

At the same time, Lazzarini warns, nearly half a million girls and boys remain "deeply traumatized" and urgently need to be brought back into the education system.

Lazzarini emphasized UNRWA's role in the Palestinian education system in the Gaza Strip, pointing out that no other administration, NGO's or other UN agency is capable of providing the necessary services like education to hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza.

The UNRWA chief added that if member-states want to give a chance for any future transition to succeed, then it needs to be ensured that the International community has the tools it needs to succeed, and one of the most important tools in existence at this time is UNRWA.

"We [are] a temporary agency which unfortunately has lasted for 75 years because there hasn't been any political solution," Lazzarini told reporters.

"Maybe after this cataclysm which has hit the region in Gaza, it might be time now to generally find a political solution, and it would be a disaster if just before it, we get rid of the mandate and an agency like UNRWA."

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by Rinat Harash

How do children react when they are caught red-handed? They blame someone else and cry.

Which is exactly what the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) did on Thursday (May 30), in an op-ed published by The New York Times.

In the article, titled “Israel Must Stop Its Campaign Against UNRWA,” Philippe Lazzarini whines that his organization is under attack by the Jewish state, which has accused it of having links to Gaza terror groups.

The gist of his over-simplistic argument, that omits Hamas as the real target of Israel’s war effort, is as follows: UNRWA is attacked by vicious Israelis for no reason, and the world must do something about it.

In his own dramatic words, it sounds like Israel’s war aim is to target and harass innocent UNRWA employees and not Hamas terrorists:

As I write this, our agency has verified that at least 192 UNRWA employees have been killed in Gaza. More than 170 UNRWA premises have been damaged or destroyed. UNRWA-run schools have been demolished.

Israeli officials are not only threatening the work of our staff and mission, they are also delegitimizing UNRWA by effectively characterizing it as a terrorist organization.

How can this be possible? Where is the international outrage? Its absence is a license to disregard the United Nations and opens the door to impunity and chaos.

While Israel has long been hostile to UNRWA, following the abhorrent attacks of Oct. 7 it unleashed a campaign to equate UNRWA with Hamas and depict the agency as promoting extremism.

All of the above allows Lazzarini to deflect criticism and avoid holding himself and his organization accountable in the face of Israeli allegations.

While he refers to the dozen UNRWA employees who have been accused by Israel of participating in the October 7 massacre, he treads lightly: He says that UNRWA investigates Israel’s allegations but at the same time creates the impression of a false dichotomy between the organization and its employees.

In fact, he ignores evidence suggesting that UNRWA has become a Hamas front:

Israel has said that 190 UNRWA employees, including teachers, have doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad terrorists.

Israel uncovered a Hamas facility under UNRWA headquarters in Gaza.

The IDF regularly releases data showing that Hamas terrorists use UNRWA schools in Gaza.

UN Watch exposed that 3,000 UNRWA teachers were in a Telegram group that celebrated the October 7 attack.

Why does Lazzarini not address these allegations head-on in an apologetic op-ed?

Interestingly, in his frenzy to attack Israel, he seems to admit that Hamas uses UNRWA facilities in Gaza.

This point was ironically reinforced on the same day of Lazzarini’s article’s publication, when the IDF revealed that Hamas had fired an anti-tank missile at its troops from an UNRWA school in Gaza.

But Lazzarini seems to be unaware of his own responsibility for the utter moral bankruptcy of his organization.

He cannot even bring himself to mention Hamas’ October 7 atrocities, which he refers to only in the 9th paragraph as “an abhorrent attack.”

Like the child caught red-handed, he accuses the neighborhood “bully” and expects an adult — or in this case “the world” — to help (and perhaps renew the flow of pocket money that has been suspended.)

Perhaps he thinks he can get away with it, because UNRWA has always been seen as a favorite child, who is nothing but virtuous.

BEIRUT: The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Tuesday that without a new injection of funding, it is “likely or highly likely” that the agency will not be able to deliver some services or pay salaries by the fall. Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini of UNRWA said at a press conference in Beirut that the agency responsible for services to Palestinian refugees has been…