The fact that an Israeli government official called Philippe Lazzarini a “terrorist sympathizer” also puts his security at risk, according to the UN.
The United Nations has denounced an Israeli government spokesman for calling the head of its Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) a “terrorist sympathizer.”
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the comments by Israel’s David Mencer were “downright dangerous.”
Mencer targeted UNRWA Director-General Philippe Lazzarini in a videotaped speech Wednesday, saying his agency had been deeply infiltrated by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
“If the UN was doing what it was designed to do, then Philippe Lazzarini should be one of the good guys, but he’s not,” Mencer said.
“He (Lazzarini) is one of the bad guys. A sympathizer of terrorism. An accomplice in the massacre of Jews. A liar.”
The U.N.’s Dujarric called the rhetoric “reprehensible,” warning that it endangered Lazzarini’s safety.
“To use the kind of inflammatory language that he used to describe Mr Lazzarini… in an environment that is already extremely volatile – is reprehensible and downright dangerous,” Dujarric told Al Jazeera.
“This puts at risk a senior UN official whose only concern is to help civilians in Gaza, to alleviate their suffering,” he said.
UNRWA under fire
Israel has for years campaigns against UNRWAthe main organization providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and caring for Palestinian refugees in other countries, claiming it has links to “terrorists” and pushing for its closure.
Earlier this year, Israel accused the agency of employing personnel who participated in the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, prompting more than a dozen international donors to suspend support.
An independent review authorized by the UN concluded that Israel had failed to provide credible evidence to support its accusations and most donors have since restored funding.
A separate investigation is underway into the October attack itself, led by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services.
Israeli attacks in Gaza have frequently targeted UNRWA facilities, killing 197 staff members and hitting 70 percent of its schools, the organization said.
“All the rules of war have been violated in Gaza,” with at least eight schools housing displaced Palestinians attacked by Israel in the past 10 days, Lazzarini said.
At least 25 people died in a strike on the last school hit, al-Razi school in the central Nuseirat refugee camp, according to Palestinian officials.
UN Secretary-General Guterres has warned that there is “no alternative to UNRWA” in Gaza, calling it a “critical lifeline” for Palestinian refugees.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 38,794 people have been killed and 89,364 injured in Israel’s war on the enclave. The death toll from Hamas attacks in Israel in October is estimated at 1,139, with dozens still being held captive in Gaza.
