UN Palestinian aid agency says Israelis set fire to headquarters

The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said on Thursday that Israelis twice set fire to the area surrounding the agency’s headquarters in East Jerusalem.

UNRWA Secretary-General Philippe Lazzarini said both UNRWA and other UN agency personnel were present at the time of the incident.

He said there were no casualties among U.N. staff, but the fire caused “extensive” damage to outdoor areas of the compound.

“It took some time for Israeli fire extinguishers and police to arrive, so the directors had to extinguish the fire themselves with the help of other staff.” Lazzarini said in a post Thursday. on social media platform X.

Lazzarini said the facility will be closed “until appropriate security is restored.”

united nations confirmed the incident “Humanitarians #NotATarget,” wrote X.

Israel has criticized UNRWA in recent months, accusing some of its staff of involvement in an October 7 terrorist attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 Israelis.

An independent report released in April found that UNRWA had not been compromised by outside groups or that its institutional neutrality had been compromised. Former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who led the investigation, said the agency had “room for improvement” and there were certainly issues with its neutrality, but that the agency’s structure was “sophisticated.”

UNRWA is an important resource for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, providing food, shelter, medicine and other supplies.

Lazzarini said “Israeli extremists” have been holding protests on the premises for the past two months. This week, protests turned “violent” and stones were thrown at UN staff.

“Over the past few months, UN personnel have been regularly harassed and threatened. Our premises have been severely destroyed and damaged,” he told X. “On several occasions, Israeli extremists threatened our staff with guns.”

“It is the responsibility of the State of Israel as the occupying power to ensure the protection of United Nations personnel and facilities at all times,” he said.