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
Generated with artificial intelligence.
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.
“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.
More
Study reveals food culture differences between Switzerland and neighbours
This content was published on
Three-quarters of Swiss people consider eating to be a pleasurable, social activity, a new survey reveals. Healthy eating, however, plays a much less important role, it found.
Precious archaeological vases and coins returned to Italian museum
This content was published on
The Italian authorities have recovered over 2,500 precious ancient coins, vases and small sculptures that had been illegally dug up and sold in Switzerland, Eurojust announced on Monday.
The consumption of antibiotics has risen in Switzerland since the Covid-19 pandemic. However, compared to other European countries the Alpine country has one of the lowest levels of antibiotic usage.
Swiss financial watchdog foresees greater uncertainty due to geopolitics
This content was published on
The Swiss financial sector will face greater uncertainty due to the numerous geopolitical conflicts around the world, warns the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
Swiss museums to mark centenary of death of painter Félix Vallotton
This content was published on
Swiss museums will celebrate the centenary of the death of the artist Félix Vallotton (1865-1925) next year. A major retrospective is planned in Lausanne, his birthplace, in autumn.
Russian mission installs more ‘spy’ antennas in Geneva, Swiss TV report claims
This content was published on
Russian spies are strengthening their presence in Geneva, according to a report by Swiss public television, RTS. Russian officials have placed new satellite dishes on their diplomatic buildings without authorisation.
Switzerland should join NATO, as in the future it cannot rely on its long-standing tradition of neutrality for its defence, John Bolton, Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, declared in an interview on Sunday.
A demonstration was held in Geneva on Sunday calling for an immediate end to the war in Ukraine. Around 50 Russians took part in the gathering outside the UN building.
