The United Nations\u2019 agency for Palestinian refugees will shutter its East Jerusalem headquarters after the compound was set on fire by \u201cIsraeli extremists\u201d while staff were inside, its chief said Thursday. <\/p>\n
In a statement on social platform X, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said the arson attack was the latest in a series of threats, harassment and violent incidents perpetrated by Israelis against the agency\u2019s staff over the past two months. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis evening, Israeli residents set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA Headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem. This took place while UNRWA and other UN Agencies\u2019 staff were on the compound,\u201d Lazzarini said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an outrageous development. Once again, the lives of UN staff were at a serious risk.\u201d <\/p>\n
The facility would be closed \u201cuntil proper security is restored,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
Lazzarini posted a video of the compound showing staff trying to extinguish the flames while people chanted outside, and said that a crowd accompanied by armed men were witnessed outside the compound shouting, \u201cBurn down the United Nations.\u201d <\/p>\n
Several social media videos were also posted on Israeli Telegram platforms on Thursday showing the UNRWA compound on fire. In one video, the repeated chant \u201cUNWRA is Hamas, UNWRA is Hamas,\u201d could be heard. <\/p>\n
Lazzarini said the fire caused \u201cextensive damage to the outdoor areas.\u201d There were no casualties among UN staff, he added. <\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s relations with the UN have sunk to a historic low in recent months, with senior UN officials highly critical of Israel\u2019s war conduct in Gaza. <\/p>\n
Israeli officials have long criticized UNRWA, which plays a central role in feeding and sheltering hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA has repeatedly denied Israeli allegations that its aid is being diverted to Hamas or that it teaches hatred in its schools, and has questioned \u201cthe motivation of those who make such claims.\u201d The agency has condemned the Hamas attack on October 7 as \u201cabhorrent.\u201d <\/p>\n
In March, UNRWA accused Israel of detaining and torturing some of its staffers, coercing them into making false confessions about the agency\u2019s ties to Hamas, two months after Israel accused at least 12 UNRWA staffers of being involved in the October 7 terrorist attacks. <\/p>\n
Israel has also alleged that about 12% of UNRWA\u2019s 13,000 staffers are members of Hamas or other Palestinian militant groups, leading more than a dozen countries to suspend funding to the agency. UNRWA said it had fired 10 of the 12 accused staffers and that the other two are dead. <\/p>\n
On Thursday, Lazzarini said it was Israel\u2019s responsibility to ensure the safety of UN personnel. <\/p>\n
\u201cI call on all those who have influence to put an end to these attacks and hold all those responsible accountable,\u201d he wrote on X. \u201cThe perpetrators of these attacks must be investigated and those responsible must be held accountable. Anything less will set a new dangerous standard.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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