9 mei 2024 om 23:55 Update: 3 uur geleden
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) is closing its office in East Jerusalem. Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, decided this after demonstrators set fire to the office grounds.
UNRWA staff were present in the office at the time of the arson. No one was injured, but the building was damaged. Lazzarini said the fire was set by “Israeli extremists”.
“This is a scandalous development,” Lazzarini wrote on X. “I have decided to close our office until it is safe again.”
Lazzarini writes that it took a long time for the emergency services to arrive to fight the fire. According to the head of UNRWA, the staff therefore had to extinguish the fire themselves.
According to Lazzarini, this is the second time this week that staff are in danger due to the actions of demonstrators. Earlier this week they threw stones at the site. Protests at the UNRWA complex have increased in the past two months, Lazzarini said.
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Tags: UNRWA closes office East Jerusalem arson protesters War Israel Hamas