“What we have seen for the time being is that there is no red line. We have seen a blatant, constant disregard of international humanitarian law”. Philippe Lazzarini
The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Refugees and Works Agency (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini revealed in an interview with Anadolu news agency on Friday that the organization is facing immense pressure after becoming a target of Israel.
Lazzarini told Aanadolu in Berlin that three of UNRWA’s operations regions – Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon – are in real crisis and have as never before been, in urgent need of the services of the UN organization.
“But at the same time, we have never been so much under attack and pressure. Now, would UNRWA leave Gaza, it would impact our current effort of saving life,” the commissioner-general was quoted by Anadolu as saying.
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According to Lazzarini, if UNRWA fails to extend its services it would mean “sacrificing an entire generation of children in Gaza who may lose the chance to return to school without a functioning administration.”
“What we have seen for the time being is that there is no red line. We have seen a blatant, constant disregard of international humanitarian law,” Lazzarini said.
The commissioner-general stressed that the prolongation of the war makes the Geneva Conventions and international human rights more irrelevant.
According to him, in this case, it “might also in the future further weaken our collective instrument that we have inherited from World War II.”
‘Barren and Uninhabitable’
Lazzarini spoke to Anadolu about the disastrous living conditions in the besieged Gaza Strip.
He told the news agency that since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza on October 7 last year, the besieged Strip has become barren and uninhabitable and 90 percent of the Palestinian population live “in 10% of the territory”.
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“The day-to-day is to struggle to avoid deaths, to avoid disease, to avoid hunger,” he added, stressing that the hunger “has been man-made in the Gaza Strip”.
Lazzarini added that 600,000 of the 1 million children in Gaza are out of school and deprived of education.
“I keep telling member states and partners, (it) should be our priority to bring them back into a learning environment,” he said.
‘Silent War’
On the extensive military operation in the occupied West Bank, Lazzarini pointed out to Anadolu that it is a “silent war taking place.”
He spoke of the record number of Palestinian casualties in the occupied West Bank since the start of the genocide in Gaza a year ago.
“More and more the clashes between the Palestinian armed group and the Israeli are becoming more violent,” he said.
The commissioner-general told Anadolu that Israel’s military operations in Palestinian refugee camps in the occupied West Bank are destroying the infrastructure, and accused Israel of practicing collective punishment on Palestinians.
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‘Everyone is Holding His Breath’
Regarding Israel’s aggression on Lebanon, the commissioner-general voiced his fear of a replication of the events that took place in Gaza to happen in Lebanon.
“I’m also very worried about the situation in Lebanon. I just came back from Beirut. Everyone is holding his breath,” he confirmed.
“We have seen in three weeks an extraordinary number of displacement. The south of Lebanon has been emptied — 1.2 million people have been put on the road. And there is a fear within the population that what we have seen in Gaza be also replicated in Lebanon,” he stressed.
Grim Funding Forecast
Lazzarini revealed on September 30 that the UN agency faces “grim” funding opportunities for the coming year.
At a press briefing in Geneva Lazzarini announced that UNRWA is short on $80 million in its budget from now till the end of the year, Anadolu news agency said.
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“The forecast for 2025 is very uncertain, looks a little bit grim, because a number of donors have indicated that they will enter an austerity budget as from 2025,” UNRWA’s commissioner general indicated.
Lazzarini urged the UN member states to resist the attacks on the agency’s reputation.
The UN official labeled the nearly one-year-old Israeli war on the Gaza Strip as an endless nightmare.
Systematic Targeting
Marking the first anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, the Israeli Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee endorsed on Monday two bills, pending final approval to be passed as a law, to halt the operations of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Israel, Israeli media reported.
The Israeli newspaper the Jerusalem Post indicated that the first bill stipulates that UNRWA cannot “operate any institution, provide any service, or conduct any activity, whether directly or indirectly” in Israel.
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The second instructs to instantly end the agreement between Tel Aviv and the international organization, which was signed following the 1967 war.
The second bill also reportedly annuls the immunity and special rights previously granted to UNRWA staff.
According to the Jerusalem Post, both bills are expected to return to the Israeli Knesset for final approval on October 28 when the winter session begins.
(PC, Anadolu)
