‘Outrageous’ arson attack forces UNRWA to temporarily close site in East Jerusalem

In a post on social media on Thursday evening, Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said: “Israeli residents set the perimeter on fire twice.” UNRWA staff and staff from other UN agencies were at the site at the time.

“Our director had to put out the fire himself with the help of other staff members as the Israeli fire extinguishers and police took a while to show up,” he said.

This is “the second horrific incident in less than a week” following a similar violent protest on Tuesday.

“An outrageous development”

While there were no injuries among UNRWA staff, the fire caused extensive damage to outdoor areas, he said, noting that there is a petrol and diesel filling station on the site where the organization’s fleet of vehicles is serviced.

A crowd accompanied by armed men was seen outside the site chanting “burn down the United Nations,” he added.

“This is an outrageous development,” he said. “Once again, the lives of UN staff were in serious danger.”

The protest turned violent

Mr. Lazzarini said he had made the decision to close the site “until proper security is restored.”

Israeli extremists have been staging protests outside the UNRWA compound in Jerusalem over the past two months “at the invitation of an elected member of the Jerusalem municipality.”

He noted that Tuesday’s protest turned violent as demonstrators threw stones at UN staff and buildings “under the supervision of Israeli police.”

Harassment, intimidation and vandalism

“In recent months, UN staff have been regularly subjected to harassment and intimidation. Our premises were badly destroyed and damaged. “Israeli extremists threatened our employees with weapons on several occasions,” he said.

The UNRWA chief stressed that it is Israel’s responsibility as an occupying power to ensure that UN personnel and facilities are protected at all times.

“I call on everyone with influence to put an end to these attacks and hold those responsible accountable,” he said. “The perpetrators of these attacks must be investigated and those responsible must be held accountable. Anything less will set a new dangerous standard.”