Press Releases

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights Expresses Its Concern about Israel's Allegations against UNRWA

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6 October 2004 |Reference 68/2004

The Israeli Army has made charges against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), claiming that it has pictures of a Palestinian rocket being transported by an UNRWA ambulance driver, who in fact was carrying a patient stretcher.
Israel has alleged that UNRWA provides assistance to Palestinian resistance groups by easing their members' movement.
UNRWA Commissioner-General, Mr.
Peter Hansen, has requested a public "retraction and apology" from Israel after the Agency denied the allegations following an internal investigation.
Hansen warned about incitement against UNRWA, which could endanger the safety of its personnel working on the ground in the OPT.
The Israeli Government has made no reply until now.
Later, the Israeli Army said it had arrested 13 UNRWA Palestinian personnel for alleged assistance to what it described as 'terrorist groups'.
The implication that the 13 employees were arrested during the current military action proved to be false, since they were in fact arrested earlier.
Indeed, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have detained hundreds of the Agency's the Palestinian personnel on political grounds over the long years of its occupation of the Palestinian territories.
None of those who were detained was charged for providing such assistance.
Rather, according to Al Mezan's documentation, most of them were detained for reasons that have nothing to do with their work in UNRWA.
Al Mezan Center for Human Rights condemns these false allegations against UNRWA and fears that this incitement against the humanitarian Agency is a step towards targeting it and its personnel.
The Center draws attention to the serious attack carried out by the IOF from inside an UNRWA school in Jabalia, after destroying its fences, which killed 10 Palestinians on 30 September 2004.
The Center also draws attention to the killing of 10-year-old Raghda Al Assar on 7 September 2004 while she was in her UNRWA school in Khan Younis( See Press Release 61/2004, dated 23 September 2004 on this incident at http://www.
mezan.
org/site_en/press_room/press_detail.
php?id=286).
UNRWA issued a press release on 27 September on this case and stated that "This tragic event occurred despite numerous calls by the Agency to the Government of Israel to instruct the Israeli Defense Forces to stop firing at or in the vicinity of its schools.
The response of the Israeli authorities has routinely been to deny that such firing took place or to cite ongoing security necessity".
Moreover, Al Mezan has documented frequent cases of IOF obstruction of UNRWA's ambulances and humanitarian personnel and of opening fire on them.
With this release, Al Mezan wishes to express its solidarity with UNRWA and its support for the humanitarian role it plays in the Palestinian refugee community.
The Center calls on the international community to provide protection for UNRWA and the other United Nations' agencies functioning in the OPT, especially given the increasing need for their services in the OPT.
the Israeli attacks against UNRWA come at a particular time as IOF violations have left 3,150 Palestinians dead, made homeless the residents of 5,100 homes and caused damage to 43,640 homes in the OPT( according to documentation prepared by Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and Al Haq).
Additionally, Israel's incitement campaign coincides with the financial crisis UNRWA faces.
The Agency has issued frequent urgent appeals to the international community to enable it to continue its humanitarian role in the OPT.
It is worth mentioning that UNRWA is the biggest Agency working with the Palestinian community in the OPT, employing about 12,000 Palestinians.
Approximately 1.
6 million refugees benefit from its services, which include education, health, sanitation and other services.
END