Ex-UNRWA Chief Says Board of Peace Quietly Met With Agency on Gaza

On Wednesday, Board of Peace officials briefed the U.N. General Assembly, citing U.N. partners and omitting UNRWA. Philippe Lazzarini, in his first interview since leaving as UNRWA chief on March 31, said board representatives and the Palestinian technocratic committee have met with the agency. Officials confirmed at least three UNRWA-committee meetings this year, two under Lazzarini. An internal U.N. summary of a January 26 Cairo meeting describes Ali Shaath praising UNRWA. Shortly before finishing his tenure, Lazzarini spoke with Shaath; Lazzarini said, "Basically, he said, ‘I don’t know how I can succeed without you’." UNRWA has about 11,000 Palestinian employees in Gaza. It conducts around 14,000 medical consultations daily and supports roughly half of Gaza's public health system. It runs math and digital literacy classes for over 280,000 children, manages temporary learning centers for 60,000 more, and operates waste and water management for more than a million people. Lazzarini said, "They want to get rid of the agency, but on the other hand they know that if you get completely rid of the agency today, it might have a further ... devastating impact on the population," and, "If you want the vaccine to end up in the mouths of the children, you still need the workforce, the presence of an agency like ours." At the June 30 donor conference, acting head Christian Saunders described UNRWA as "vital." A Board of Peace official said "UNRWA’s days are over," that talks sought programs "far more efficient and accountable," and that they "may persist if they are serving Gazans well." CONTESTED (none found)