{"id":308451,"date":"2025-06-24T14:13:32","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T18:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=308451"},"modified":"2025-06-25T14:13:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T18:13:44","slug":"press-conference-by-unrwa-commissioner-general-philippe-lazzarini-in-berlin-update-on-gaza-the-west-bank-and-the-work-of-unrwa","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/press-conference-by-unrwa-commissioner-general-philippe-lazzarini-in-berlin-update-on-gaza-the-west-bank-and-the-work-of-unrwa\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Conference by UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini in Berlin: Update on Gaza, the West Bank, and the work of UNRWA"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

24 June 2024<\/p>\n

(as delivered)<\/p>\n

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Opening:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It<\/span>\u00a0is excellent to see you all again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A lot has happened since we met here a few months ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We are meeting<\/span>\u00a0at a time of seismic challenges in the Middle East and around the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Let me first give you an overview of the occupied Palestinian territory and the work of UNRWA<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In\u00a0<\/span>Gaza<\/span><\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span>atrocities continue while global attention shifts elsewhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A\u00a0<\/span>confined and captive population is bombarded, besieged and constantly displaced.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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More than 55,000 people are reported killed, most of them women and children.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Two<\/span>\u00a0million people are being starved, among them 1 million children.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We have said it several times and I say it once again: no place is safe in Gaza, and no one is spared.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hospitals, schools, shelters, homes, and places of refuge all have been hit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Doctors, journalists, and aid workers \u2013 among them\u00a0<\/span>nearly 320 UNRWA staff \u2013 have been killed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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According to the latest UN data, last year was the\u00a0<\/span>deadliest year for children in any conflict in recent history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The newly created, so-called \u201caid mechanism\u201d is an abomination that humiliates and degrades desperate people.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It is a death-trap, costing more lives than it saves.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Humanitarian principles must be reinstated<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The<\/span>\u00a0humanitarian community, including UNRWA, has the expertise and must be allowed to do their jobs and provide assistance with respect and dignity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the\u00a0<\/span>occupied West Bank<\/span><\/strong>, Palestinians have been displaced from camps in the north at levels not seen since 1967.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Civilian<\/span>\u00a0infrastructure is systematically destroyed so Palestinians cannot return to their homes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The demography of refugee camps in the northern West Bank\u00a0<\/span>is being permanently altered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A tight siege has been imposed on the area, prohibiting movement and cutting off Palestinians from their livelihood<\/span>s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meanwhile, settler violence continues at alarming levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Annexation<\/span>\u00a0of the West Bank is happening steadily in a gross violation of international law.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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UNRWA:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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UNRWA has become a<\/span>n objective of this war, which aims to strip Palestinians of their refugee status.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This January, Israeli legislation came into effect prohibiting UNRWA\u2019s activities in what Israel considers its sovereign territory \u2013 including East Jerusalem \u2013 and prohibiting contact between Israeli authorities and the Agency.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Consequently, international UNRWA staff have been effectively expelled from the occupied Palestinian territory.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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However,<\/span>\u00a0our activities continue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The courage and determination of our Palestinian staff \u2013 despite arrests,\u00a0<\/span>intimidation and harassment \u2013 means essential services are still delivered to Palestine Refugees, including primary healthcare and education.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the dystopian\u00a0<\/span>horror that is Gaza, UNRWA still provides more than 15,000 health consultations each day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Our teams continue to<\/span>\u00a0manage shelters, provide clean water, and remove waste.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Our teams are a model of what humanitarian work is and should be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I<\/span>\u00a0must also highlight the disinformation campaign portraying UNRWA as a terrorist organisation, and our staff as terrorists or terrorist sympathizers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Th<\/span>is campaign was further reinforced given the prolonged\u202fban<\/span>\u202fon independent, international media in Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Over the past 20 months, the Government of Israel\u00a0<\/span>has continued to make claims against UNRWA and its neutrality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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These<\/span>\u00a0allegations have put the lives of our staff at serious risk and harmed the reputation of the Agency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I must stress that UNRWA \u2013 like comparable United Nations entities \u2013 does not have police,\u00a0<\/span>military or intelligence capabilities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We rely on Member States when such\u00a0<\/span>capacities are needed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We have repeatedly asked the Government of Israel for evidence to support its claims that some UNRWA staff are involved in militant activity.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Last month, I wrote to the Foreign Minister of Israel, requesting<\/span>\u00a0once again information and evidence to substantiate these allegations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In my letter, I also noted that the Government of Israel has not pursued any prosecutions within its criminal justice system, which would also require the presentation of credible evidence.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We have not received a response.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I reiterate here that\u00a0<\/span>allegations are not evidence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Repeating allegations in letters or on social media does not constitute\u00a0<\/span>due process.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Financial situation and<\/span> Strategic Assessment of the Agency:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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UNRWA\u2019s financial situation is dire.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cash flow is managed now\u00a0<\/span>on a weekly basis instead of monthly let alone yearly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Without\u00a0<\/span>additional funding, I will soon have to take unprecedented decisions affecting our services to Palestine Refugees across the region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The loss of UNRWA\u2019s stabilising effect on a region\u00a0<\/span>increasingly in turmoil will also be consequential.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In response to the very real possibility of the Agency imploding in the face of\u00a0<\/span>extraordinary adversity, the United Nations Secretary-General has requested a strategic assessment of the impact and exercise of UNRWA\u2019s mandate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Strategic Assessment will propose how the rights of Palestine Refugees\u00a0<\/span>can be protected amid the immense political, financial and operational pressure the Agency is under.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I believe that\u00a0<\/span>UNRWA is a tremendous asset if what we seek is a just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine and its people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A genuine, time-bound political process would allow the Agency to finally transition its government-like services to empowered and prepared public institutions serving Palestinians.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the absence of an orderly transition, the sudden loss or reduction of UNRWA\u2019s services will only deepen suffering and despair across the occupied Palestinian territory.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It m<\/span>ight spark unrest in the neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This is something that the region cannot afford, especially now.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Let me conclude\u00a0<\/span>with a couple of points and then take your questions:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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