Israeli authorities official calling Phillipe Lazzarini a ‘terrorist sympathiser’ additionally places his security in danger, UN says.
The United Nations has denounced an Israeli authorities spokesperson for calling the pinnacle of its company for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) a “terrorist sympathiser”.
Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for UN Secretary-Basic Antonio Guterres, mentioned the feedback by Israel’s David Mencer had been “downright harmful”.
Mencer took intention at UNRWA head Phillipe Lazzarini in a videotaped speech on Wednesday, saying his company had been deeply infiltrated by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
“Now if the UN was doing what it was designed to do, then Philippe Lazzarini must be one of many good guys, however he isn’t,” Mencer mentioned.
“He [Lazzarini] is likely one of the dangerous guys. A terrorist sympathiser. A Jew-killing enabler. A liar.”
The UN’s Dujarric known as the rhetoric “reprehensible”, warning that it jeopardises Lazzarini’s security.
“Utilizing the sort of inflammatory language he used to explain Mr Lazzarini … in an atmosphere that’s already extraordinarily risky – is reprehensible and downright harmful,” Dujarric advised Al Jazeera.
“It places in danger a senior UN official whose solely focus is on serving to civilians in Gaza. To alleviate their struggling,” he mentioned.
UNRWA underneath fireplace
Israel has for years campaigned in opposition to the UNRWA, the principle organisation delivering humanitarian help to Palestinians within the Gaza Strip and caring for Palestinian refugees in different international locations, claiming it has connections with “terrorists” and lobbying for its closure.
Earlier this yr, Israel accused the company of using employees who participated within the Hamas-led October 7 assaults on Israel, pushing greater than a dozen worldwide donors to droop help.
A UN-authorised unbiased evaluation discovered that Israel had not supplied credible proof for its accusations and most donors have since reinstated funding.
There’s a separate investigation into the October assault itself, by the UN’s Workplace of Inner Oversight Providers.
Israeli assaults in Gaza have steadily focused UNRWA services, killing 197 of its employees members and placing 70 p.c of its colleges, in response to the organisation.
“All guidelines of battle have been damaged in Gaza”, with at the very least eight colleges housing displaced Palestinians attacked by Israel within the final 10 days, Lazzarini mentioned.
A minimum of 25 folks died in a strike on the newest college to be hit, al-Razi college within the central Nuseirat refugee camp, in response to Palestinian officers.
UN chief Guterres has warned that “there isn’t any various to UNRWA” in Gaza, calling it a “crucial lifeline” for Palestinian refugees.
Gaza’s Ministry of Well being mentioned at the very least 38,794 folks have been killed and 89,364 wounded in Israel’s battle on the enclave. The dying toll in Israel from the Hamas-led assaults in October is estimated at 1,139, with dozens of individuals nonetheless held captive in Gaza.
