The principle United Nations company that aids Palestinians, often called UNRWA, mentioned on Thursday that it had briefly closed its headquarters in East Jerusalem for the security of its employees after components of the compound have been set on fireplace following weeks of assaults.
“This night, Israeli residents set fireplace twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA Headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem,” mentioned the chief of the company, Philippe Lazzarini, on social media. The hearth prompted intensive harm to the out of doors areas of the compound, Mr. Lazzarini mentioned, however that no employees from UNRWA or different U.N. businesses suffered accidents. He added that among the employees “needed to put out the fireplace themselves because it took the Israeli fireplace extinguishers and police some time earlier than they turned up.”
The assault put the lives of U.N. employees at “critical danger” and got here two days after protesters threw stones at employees members on the compound, Mr. Lazzarini mentioned.
Protests by Israeli settlers calling for UNRWA’s closure have been persevering with for months. “On a number of events, Israeli extremists threatened our employees with weapons,” Mr. Lazzarini mentioned in Thursday’s social media put up. He added that beneath worldwide legislation, it’s Israel’s duty “as an occupying energy to make sure that United Nations personnel and services are protected always.”
Many Israeli officers have referred to as for years for UNRWA to be dismantled, and the company misplaced funding from some donor international locations earlier this 12 months after Israel accused a dozen of its employees of being concerned within the Hamas-led assault on Israel on Oct. 7. An independent review commissioned by the U.N. and launched in April discovered that Israel had not offered any proof to help its additional accusations that many UNRWA employees members have been members of terrorist organizations.