UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.
Keystone-SDA
Select your language
Generated with artificial intelligence.
Listening: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza
The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.
“There is no plan B within the United Nations family, because there is no other agency capable of providing the same activities,” Lazzarini told reporters in Geneva on Monday.
External Content
“If you are talking about bringing in a truck with food, you will certainly find an alternative”, but “the answer is no” when it comes to education and primary health care, Lazzarini, a Swiss national, added.
In October, the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, decided to ban UNRWA from operating on Israeli soil and from coordinating with the Israeli authorities. The two laws will take effect 90 days after their adoption, according to the Knesset.
No explanation from Israel
Lazzarini explained that the agency he heads had “not received any official communication on how Israel intends” to implement the ban.
He called on the international community to act to prevent these laws from being applied. But if they are implemented, “it means that we will no longer be able to operate in Gaza, (…) coordinate our movements, do deconfliction and therefore the environment will have to be far too dangerous”.
For UNRWA staff, there is a fear of “job insecurity, but beyond that, there is a real fear that any one of them could be … arrested”, he said.
“I have drawn the attention of the member states that now the clock is ticking … We have to stop or prevent the implementation of this bill,” he told reporters, saying there is no alternative to the agency’s services in Gaza besides allowing Israel to take them over.
Accusations without proof
The Israeli authorities have long been highly critical of the UN agency. Their relations worsened after the start of the war in Gaza. Israel accused some UNRWA staff of taking part in the attack perpetrated on its soil on October 7 2023 by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
According to the UN, Israel has never provided any evidence to support these claims. Doubts about nine UNRWA employees led to their dismissal.
Translated from French by DeepL/sb
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
Popular Stories
More
Banking & Fintech
UBS releases ‘hundreds’ of staff in fresh wave of job cuts
Should Switzerland take measures to support its struggling industries?
Industrial policies are back in fashion, not only in the United States but also in the EU. Should Switzerland, where various industries are struggling, draw inspiration from such policies?
As a Swiss Abroad, how do you feel about the emergence of more conservative family policies in some US states?
In recent years several US states have adopted more conservative policies on family issues, abortion and education. As a Swiss citizen living there, how do you view this development?
This content was published on
A committee of Switzerland’s House of Representatives has found the people’s initiative to limit fireworks too extreme, but has suggested a counter-proposal.
UN investigators report evidence of crimes in Syria and call for national dialogue
This content was published on
UN investigators in Geneva report ample evidence of crimes in Syria and urge the regime to follow through on its promise of a national dialogue.
Swiss Trade Union warns EU deal could threaten wages
This content was published on
The Swiss Trade Union Federation warns that the new bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the EU could threaten wage protection and public services.
Credit Suisse fines from Mozambique scandal to fund victims’ compensation
This content was published on
The fines imposed on Credit Suisse for the Mozambique scandal will be allocated to a fund for the victims, amounting to $105.5 million.
‘Confederation is a subsidy machine’: Swiss finance minister
This content was published on
The Swiss government is a machine for distributing subsidies to various actors in the country, says finance minister Karin Keller-Sutter.
Lack of funds ends third bid to salvage Säntis ship from Swiss lake
This content was published on
A third attempt to salvage the steamship Säntis, lying at the bottom of Lake Constance in Switzerland since 1933, has failed before it has even begun.
Nestlé Waters on trial in France over illegal waste dumps
This content was published on
Bottled water producer Nestlé Waters to stand trial, accused of illegally dumping waste and maintaining unauthorised dumps.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.