“We accept the recommendations of this report”, assures the spokesperson for the agency for Palestinian refugees

“We accept the recommendations of this report which we find constructive”assured, Tuesday April 23 on franceinfo Tamara Alrifai, spokesperson for UNRWA, the United Nations Office for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East, after the submission of a report to the UN pointing out “persistent neutrality issues” of UNRWA in the conflict with Israel.

This report from an independent group chaired by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna discussed “persistent neutrality issues” of the agency, which nevertheless remains “irreplaceable and indispensable for the human and economic development of the Palestinians”.

Improvements to be made “in several areas”

“The agency can do better in several areas,” recognized his spokesperson, citing in particulart “management, transparency and relations with donors”. “We will cooperate fully with the governments that support us, the research centers, to implement all the recommendations to which we adhere”. Tamara Alrifai recalled that currently, “That’s half of the Gazan population that we have in our 56 shelters in southern Gaza.” “We lost 180 of our colleagues”she continued.

UNRWA, which has more than 30,000 employees, is accused by Israel of using “more than 400 terrorists” in the Gaza Strip. Twelve people are singled out by the Israelis for having been, according to them, directly involved in the unprecedented attack of October 7, 2023 carried out by Hamas on Israeli soil.