UNRWA staff accused by Israel sacked without evidence, chief admits
www.theguardian.com
Philippe Lazzarini says summary dismissal of nine employees was ‘reverse due process’ after Israel’s claims they aided Hamas attack
  • @filister@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    43•11 months ago

    Lazzarini said the agency was operating in a “hostile” environment and it had faced new “restrictions” since Israel’s allegations were made public.

    He said an Israeli bank account belonging to UNRWA had been frozen and the agency had been warned that its tax benefits would be cancelled. Lazzarini added that a consignment of food aid from Turkey, including flour, chickpeas, rice, sugar and cooking oil, that would sustain 1.1 million people for a month had been blocked at the Israeli port of Ashdod.

    He claimed the contractor said the Israeli authorities had instructed the company not to move it or accept any payment from a Palestinian bank.

    Witch hunt anyone?

    • alternative_factor
      13•11 months ago

      My brother compared super pro-Zionism to mCarthyism and yup here it is. Don’t even need proof, just fire away at random people you dislike.

  • AutoTL;DRBEnglish
    5•11 months ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees has said he followed “reverse due process” in sacking nine staff members accused by Israel of being involved in Hamas’s 7 October attacks.

    “Indeed, I have terminated without due process because I felt at the time that not only the reputation but the ability of the entire agency to continue to operate and deliver critical humanitarian assistance was at stake if I did not take such a decision,” he said.

    It has accused a dozen of the agency’s 13,000 staff in Gaza of taking part in Hamas’s 7 October attacks in Israel that killed 1,200 people.

    But he said that Israel did not raise concerns about the individuals when their names were submitted last year for vetting along with all 30,000 of UNRWA’s staff, who work with Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

    On Thursday, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, defended the decision to fire the staff before an inquiry was complete, citing “credible” information from Israel, adding: “We couldn’t run the risk not to act immediately as the accusations were related to criminal activities.”

    Lazzarini added that a consignment of food aid from Turkey, including flour, chickpeas, rice, sugar and cooking oil, that would sustain 1.1 million people for a month had been blocked at the Israeli port of Ashdod.

    The original article contains 704 words, the summary contains 226 words. Saved 68%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!