Demonstrations held in Gaza against UNRWA assigning its duties to other agencies
Popular Palestinian committees for Palestinian refugees took to the streets outside headquarters of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip to condemn and protest latest remarks made by agency’s commissioner general Phlippe Lazzarini.
Lazzarini had said that the UNRWA seeks to assign part of its duties to other UN agencies as it faces a dangerous financial deficit.
The protestor said they rejected such comments as a clear violation of international laws, adding the U.N Agency has been established to support refugees in the homeland and diaspora.
They raised banners, rejecting such decisions that aim to liquidate the Palestinian cause. Mahmud Al-Zaq from Palestinian Popular Struggle Front told 24 News Agency accused suspicious parties of trying to turn UNRWA into a commercial company.
He said that UNRWA has been established according to political considerations that force it aid refugees and help them return to their countries.
In an interview with A24 News Agency, Palestinian Refugee Rehab Kanaan complained that UNRWA cut its aid to refugees in Palestine and Lebanon in the health and education sectors, demanding the UN agency to perform its duties properly until Palestinians return to their homes.
Gaza protests came as Palestinian refugees in Lebanon also took to the streets to protest a decline in all services and support provided to them by the UNRWA in the fields of health, education, food aid and medicine.
Most Palestinian refugees live in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as in neighbouring Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.