LOC17:03
14:03 GMT
GENEVA, May 27 (KUNA) -- On Tuesday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) strongly condemned the assault on its compound in (Sheikh Jarrah) neighborhood of occupied East Jerusalem.
The assault was carried out by a group of Israeli occupation settlers led by a Knesset member and accompanied by Israeli occupation media.
UNRWA stated that this assault constitutes a serious violation of international law and of the occupying power's obligations as a United Nations member state.
Speaking online from Amman during a press conference held in Geneva, UNRWAآ’s Director of Communications Juliette Touma said that the settlers entered the compound without authorization, raised flags and banners and attempted to claim the premises to establish a new settlement.
This, she said, followed months of incitement targeting the compound, which previously housed UNRWAآ’s headquarters and field offices for the occupied West Bank.
Touma explained that UNRWA was forced in January last year to vacate the compound and withdraw all of its international staff after the Israeli occupation`s Knesset passed a law banning the agencyآ’s operations and occupation authorities refrained from renewing the visas of its international personnel.
She added that UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini had sent a letter to the Israeli occupationآ’s Minister of Foreign Affairs calling on its government to put an end to the "disinformation campaigns" directed against UNRWA and to resume cooperation with the UN agency in accordance with international frameworks.
Lazzarini also requested that the Israeli authorities provide evidence to support their allegations against the agency stating "In the absence of any formal criminal proceedings or credible evidence this situation raises serious doubts about the validity of these allegations."
Touma emphasized that the Israeli occupation authoritiesآ’ continued baseless claims about UNRWAآ’s neutrality over the past 20 months have endangered the lives of the agencyآ’s staff and severely damaged its reputation.
In response to questions from journalists about the role of the so-called "Gaza Humanitarian Organization" which is backed by both the US and Israeli occupation and has been entering aid in Gaza, Touma stressed "We are not part of the current mechanism for clear reasons. The mechanism represents a deviation from what is truly needed which is the reopening of all crossings into Gaza ensuring a safe environment within the Strip and facilitating and expediting the entry of humanitarian aid that we already have ready on the other side of the border."
Touma confirmed that the United Nations has no information on whether the aid brought into Gaza by the organization in coordination with the occupation forces has actually arrived or been distributed.
She affirmed that UNRWA and other UN agencies remain ready to continue their humanitarian work in the areas of relief education and primary healthcare for Palestine refugees particularly in Gaza where the agency has both the capacity and infrastructure for a scaled-up response. (end)
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