Head of Palestinian relief agency deplores ‘short-sighted’ calls for closure

The Swiss head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said on Tuesday that calls to dismantle it were short-sighted and that terminating its mandate would weaken the world’s ability to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. “I have talked to the member states about all these calls to have UNRWA dismantled, to be terminated. I have warned about the impact, I have said that these calls are short-sighted,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said after meeting member states at the United Nations in Geneva. Major donors have suspended funding after allegations that 12 of UNRWA’s tens of thousands of Palestinian employees were suspected of involvement in the October 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas. Even prior to the allegations, Israeli authorities had repeatedly called for the agency to be dismantled, arguing it fosters anti-Israeli sentiment among its staff. UNRWA strongly disputes this. + Switzerland should continue UNRWA funding, says Swisspeace director “There is absolutely no ...