This time it was an “arson attempt by Israeli children and young people on UNRWA”, Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a social media post on Tuesday. “This has got to stop,” he said. Last Thursday evening, Mr. Lazzarini said Israeli residents had set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA headquarters when staff from several…
“The agency will no longer have funding as of the end of February, so that means our operations would come to a halt during March,” said Dorothee Klaus, UNRWA Director in Lebanon, describing the “severe impact” of fresh budget cuts. The funding crisis stemmed from Israel’s allegations that a dozen agency staff were involved in…
Apart from a political decision, which would have to be made by the General Assembly, “there is no way any organization can replace or substitute the tremendous capacity and the fabric of UNRWA and its ability and knowledge,” Sigrid Kaag, Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, told correspondents at a stakeout outside the Security…
