{"id":308451,"date":"2025-06-24T14:13:32","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T18:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=308451"},"modified":"2025-06-25T14:13:44","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T18:13:44","slug":"press-conference-by-unrwa-commissioner-general-philippe-lazzarini-in-berlin-update-on-gaza-the-west-bank-and-the-work-of-unrwa","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/press-conference-by-unrwa-commissioner-general-philippe-lazzarini-in-berlin-update-on-gaza-the-west-bank-and-the-work-of-unrwa\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Conference by Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini in Berlin: Update on Gaza, the West Bank, and the work of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

24 June 2024<\/p>\n

(as delivered)<\/p>\n

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Opening:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It<\/span>\u00a0is excellent to see you all again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A lot has happened since we met here a few months ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We are meeting<\/span>\u00a0at a time of seismic challenges in the Middle East and around the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Let me first give you an overview of the occupied Palestinian territory and the work of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In\u00a0<\/span>Gaza<\/span><\/strong>,\u00a0<\/span>atrocities continue while global attention shifts elsewhere.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A\u00a0<\/span>confined and captive population is bombarded, besieged and constantly displaced.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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More than 55,000 people are reported killed, most of them women and children.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Two<\/span>\u00a0million people are being starved, among them 1 million children.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We have said it several times and I say it once again: no place is safe in Gaza, and no one is spared.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hospitals, schools, shelters, homes, and places of refuge all have been hit.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Doctors, journalists, and aid workers \u2013 among them\u00a0<\/span>nearly 320 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA staff \u2013 have been killed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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According to the latest Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ data, last year was the\u00a0<\/span>deadliest year for children in any conflict in recent history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The newly created, so-called \u201caid mechanism\u201d is an abomination that humiliates and degrades desperate people.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It is a death-trap, costing more lives than it saves.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Humanitarian principles must be reinstated<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The<\/span>\u00a0humanitarian community, including Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA, has the expertise and must be allowed to do their jobs and provide assistance with respect and dignity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the\u00a0<\/span>occupied West Bank<\/span><\/strong>, Palestinians have been displaced from camps in the north at levels not seen since 1967.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Civilian<\/span>\u00a0infrastructure is systematically destroyed so Palestinians cannot return to their homes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The demography of refugee camps in the northern West Bank\u00a0<\/span>is being permanently altered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A tight siege has been imposed on the area, prohibiting movement and cutting off Palestinians from their livelihood<\/span>s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Meanwhile, settler violence continues at alarming levels.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Annexation<\/span>\u00a0of the West Bank is happening steadily in a gross violation of international law.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA has become a<\/span>n objective of this war, which aims to strip Palestinians of their refugee status.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This January, Israeli legislation came into effect prohibiting Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s activities in what Israel considers its sovereign territory \u2013 including East Jerusalem \u2013 and prohibiting contact between Israeli authorities and the Agency.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Consequently, international Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA staff have been effectively expelled from the occupied Palestinian territory.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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However,<\/span>\u00a0our activities continue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The courage and determination of our Palestinian staff \u2013 despite arrests,\u00a0<\/span>intimidation and harassment \u2013 means essential services are still delivered to Palestine Refugees, including primary healthcare and education.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the dystopian\u00a0<\/span>horror that is Gaza, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA still provides more than 15,000 health consultations each day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Our teams continue to<\/span>\u00a0manage shelters, provide clean water, and remove waste.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Our teams are a model of what humanitarian work is and should be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I<\/span>\u00a0must also highlight the disinformation campaign portraying Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA as a terrorist organisation, and our staff as terrorists or terrorist sympathizers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Th<\/span>is campaign was further reinforced given the prolonged\u202fban<\/span>\u202fon independent, international media in Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Over the past 20 months, the Government of Israel\u00a0<\/span>has continued to make claims against Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA and its neutrality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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These<\/span>\u00a0allegations have put the lives of our staff at serious risk and harmed the reputation of the Agency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I must stress that Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA \u2013 like comparable United Nations entities \u2013 does not have police,\u00a0<\/span>military or intelligence capabilities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We rely on Member States when such\u00a0<\/span>capacities are needed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We have repeatedly asked the Government of Israel for evidence to support its claims that some Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA staff are involved in militant activity.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Last month, I wrote to the Foreign Minister of Israel, requesting<\/span>\u00a0once again information and evidence to substantiate these allegations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In my letter, I also noted that the Government of Israel has not pursued any prosecutions within its criminal justice system, which would also require the presentation of credible evidence.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We have not received a response.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I reiterate here that\u00a0<\/span>allegations are not evidence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Repeating allegations in letters or on social media does not constitute\u00a0<\/span>due process.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Financial situation and<\/span> Strategic Assessment of the Agency:<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s financial situation is dire.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Cash flow is managed now\u00a0<\/span>on a weekly basis instead of monthly let alone yearly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Without\u00a0<\/span>additional funding, I will soon have to take unprecedented decisions affecting our services to Palestine Refugees across the region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The loss of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s stabilising effect on a region\u00a0<\/span>increasingly in turmoil will also be consequential.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In response to the very real possibility of the Agency imploding in the face of\u00a0<\/span>extraordinary adversity, the United Nations Secretary-General has requested a strategic assessment of the impact and exercise of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s mandate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Strategic Assessment will propose how the rights of Palestine Refugees\u00a0<\/span>can be protected amid the immense political, financial and operational pressure the Agency is under.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I believe that\u00a0<\/span>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA is a tremendous asset if what we seek is a just and lasting solution to the question of Palestine and its people.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A genuine, time-bound political process would allow the Agency to finally transition its government-like services to empowered and prepared public institutions serving Palestinians.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In the absence of an orderly transition, the sudden loss or reduction of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵRWA\u2019s services will only deepen suffering and despair across the occupied Palestinian territory.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It m<\/span>ight spark unrest in the neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This is something that the region cannot afford, especially now.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Let me conclude\u00a0<\/span>with a couple of points and then take your questions:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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