Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ relief agency confirms death of staffer in Tulkarem 

11 December Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA) today confirmed the death of one of its staffers during an Israeli undercover operation last week in Tulkarem.

Maher Aqallah, an Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA school attendant, was killed by an Israeli soldier on 3 December when he opened the door to his house, according to the Agency. The circumstances of his death, the fourth Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA fatality in the past three weeks, remain unclear.

Last Friday 10 people were killed, including two Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµWRA staff, during an Israeli military assault. The attack drew immediate condemnation from the Agency's Commissioner-General, Peter Hansen, who said, "This loss of civilian lives, of people working for a humanitarian Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ agency, is completely unacceptable."

On 22 November, another Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµRWA worker, Iain Hook, was killed by an Israeli soldier in the Jenin refugee camp. Mr. Hook, who had been managing the rehabilitation of the facility, was fatally wounded by a single bullet while in the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ compound.