According to documents compiled by Unrwa, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine, UN staff working with Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have faced systematic obstruction and harassment by Israeli military and authorities since the conflict in Gaza began five months ago.
The incidents documented include alleged blindfolding and beating of UN staff at checkpoints, as well as the use of UN facilities by Israeli troops as firing positions during raids on refugee camps resulting in Palestinian casualties. Unrwa, which has provided essential services to Palestinians in the occupied territories for decades, denies accusations of collaboration with Hamas in Gaza, stating that no solid evidence has been presented to support such claims.
Juliette Touma, Unrwa’s spokesperson, said the incidents in the West Bank – where the agency runs 96 schools and 43 health clinics for 871,000 registered refugees – detailed in the internal documents were “part of a wider pattern of harassment that we are seeing against Unrwa in the West Bank and Jerusalem”.
The information provided appears to be a mixture of statements and statistics regarding the situation in the West Bank and Gaza. The UNRWA document highlights the economic hardships faced by Palestinians due to movement restrictions, warning of potential instability. It reports a significant number of Palestinian casualties since October, attributed to Israeli security forces and settlers. Additionally, it mentions a conflict in Gaza initiated by a Hamas attack, resulting in casualties, especially among civilians.
