The principle United Nations company that aids Palestinians, referred to as UNRWA, stated on Thursday that it will quickly shut its headquarters in East Jerusalem for the protection of its workers after components of the compound have been set on hearth following weeks of assaults.
“This night, Israeli residents set hearth twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA Headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem,” stated the chief of the company, Philippe Lazzarini, on social media. The hearth prompted intensive injury to the outside areas of the compound, Mr. Lazzarini stated, however that no staff from UNRWA or different U.N. businesses suffered accidents. He added that a few of the staff “needed to put out the hearth themselves because it took the Israeli hearth extinguishers and police some time earlier than they turned up.”
The assault put the lives of U.N. workers at “severe threat” and got here two days after protesters threw stones at workers members on the compound, Mr. Lazzarini stated.
Protests by Israeli settlers calling for UNRWA’s closure have been persevering with for months. “On a number of events, Israeli extremists threatened our workers with weapons,” Mr. Lazzarini stated in Thursday’s social media submit. He added that below worldwide legislation, it’s Israel’s duty “as an occupying energy to make sure that United Nations personnel and amenities are protected always.”
Many Israeli officers have referred to as for years for UNRWA to be dismantled, and the company misplaced funding from some donor international locations earlier this 12 months after Israel accused a dozen of its workers of being concerned within the Hamas-led assault on Israel on Oct. 7. An impartial evaluate commissioned by the U.N. and launched in April discovered that Israel had not offered any proof to help its additional accusations that many UNRWA workers members have been members of terrorist organizations.
