#UNRWA / Philippe Lazzarini interview with Haaretz: “Israel did not provide us with evidence for suspicions against employees, we expect full cooperation”
Lazzarini says #Israel has not provided substantive evidence to back its accusations against UNRWA employees and dismissal of the organization's neutrality. He calls for full cooperation from Israel in investigating the claims.
Despite Israel not providing full intelligence report; Lazzarini says he fired 10 of them immediately based only on a verbal briefing from Israel's Foreign Ministry.
Israel did not raise any issues with the list of all UNRWA employees that is shared annually. The 12 suspected employees were included on the latest list from May 2023.
Lazzarini questions the claims that 10% of UNRWA Gaza staff are linked to Hamas, saying they have not received this information and don't know the source.
He argues UNRWA has limited ability to detect Hamas tunnels under its buildings in Gaza, as it lacks military expertise and mandate.
He denies claims of widespread diversion of UNRWA aid to Hamas, saying aid is distributed directly to families without intermediaries. He acknowledges he can't fully rule out some aid being taken and resold on black market.
