(Jerusalem) UNRWA announced Thursday evening that it would close its offices in East Jerusalem after “Israeli extremists” “set fire” to open-air areas of the compound, announced the head of the agency. the UN for Palestinian refugees.
On Thursday evening, “Israelis set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem” while “UNRWA personnel and other UN agencies were present” inside, indicates Philippe Lazzarini on X, specifying that no “member of the UN staff was injured”.
“I took the decision to close the compound until adequate security is re-established,” he adds, denouncing a “second heinous incident in less than a week” committed by “Israeli extremists” and in which “the lives of UN employees were put at serious risk”.
These UNRWA offices house a service station for the UN agency’s vehicles, he emphasizes, recalling that “it is the responsibility of the State of Israel, as the occupying power, to ensure that United Nations personnel and facilities are protected at all times.”
In a video posted on his account, filmed from outside the UN compound, demonstrators can be heard proclaiming “Burn the United Nations!” “, while on the other side of the wire fence a UN employee extinguishes the burning vegetation with a garden hose.
On Tuesday, Mr. Lazzarini released a video filmed from inside the UN offices in East Jerusalem showing demonstrators damaging the gate.
“In recent months, UN staff have been regularly subjected to harassment and intimidation. Our compound was severely vandalized and damaged. On several occasions, Israeli extremists threatened our staff with weapons,” he said Thursday evening.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar both condemned in separate statements the attack “led by Israeli settlers on UNRWA offices in occupied Jerusalem.”
The incident took place “under the eyes of the Israeli police”, denounces Riyadh, while Doha considers “in the systematic targeting of UNRWA […] ultimately aims to liquidate it and deprive millions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon of its necessary services.”