Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), on Thursday denounced Israel's labeling of UNRWA as a "terrorist organization" as an attack on both the agency and the multilateral system, while expressing hope for the smooth progress of the polio vaccination campaign in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Knesset voted in favor of a proposal to designate UNRWA as a "terrorist organization" in July.
Lazzarini stated that as a member of the UN, Israel's attack on UNRWA sets a dangerous precedent.
"It would be unconscionable to be in a situation where a UN member state labels a UN agency as a terrorist organization. It's not just an attack on UNRWA, it's an attack against the instrument of our common multilateral system. It would not have an impact only in Israel-occupied Palestinian territories, we would definitely enter into a complete uncharted territory, but we would also open a new Pandora box," he said.
The UNRWA chief hopes that the second phase of administering polio vaccinations to children under 10 years of age in Gaza's southern zone will progress smoothly.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the first phase of polio vaccinations in central Gaza was completed on Sept. 4, with 187,000 children vaccinated, well more than the target of 156,000 vaccinations.
"Now for the second phase, I do believe that everyone understood the importance of the first phase, we know that polio has absolutely no border per se, so I would expect that we should be able also to implement as smoothly as doing the first phase, the second phase," Lazzarini said.
Transitioning to the broader context of UNRWA's relationship with Israel, Lazzarini elaborates on the multifaceted nature of their interaction.
"It is not one relation, it's a multilayer relation. When it comes to operation on the ground, we have our colleagues who are in daily contact because whatever we do, whatever movement we do, is also being coordinated and deconflicted," said Lazzarini, in regards to the current relationship between UNRWA and Israel.
UNRWA chief condemns Israel's "terrorist" label as attack on multilateral system
