Palestine – A sit-in near the UNRWA building in Gaza against the suspension of aid

Location: Gaza- Palestine

Language: Arabic

Voice: Natural

Duration: 00:05:41

Source: A24       

Restrictions: A24 Clients

Dateline: 25-14-2022

Storyline

Dozens of Palestinians in Gaza protested in front of the UNRWA building against the delay in the reconstruction process, and demanded from the UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philip Lazzarini, to retract his recent call regarding the transfer of UNRWA projects to other international networks and institutions.

The protestors raised banners calling for the agency to speed up the reconstruction of their homes, which were destroyed by Israel during the war last May and the 2014 war.

Statistics indicate that the number of housing units that were destroyed during the war is 2075, and about 15,000 housing units were partially damaged.

The protestors ignited tires to express their anger and threw eggs at the agency’s gates.

Shotlist

• SOUNDBITE (Mahmoud Khalaf – Spokesman for the National and Islamic Forces):

“This protest is to reject the statements of the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, to refer UNRWA’s missions to various other international bodies, and to limit UNRWA’s role to supervision only. This dismantles UNRWA and empties it of its political content. These statements are rejected, and we will not accept them.”

• SOUNDBITE (Sufian Matar – Member of the Central Committee of the Palestine Liberation Front):

“There is a delay by UNRWA, not only in reconstruction but in many sectors and services it provides, especially in Gaza. The May 2021 war, destroyed a large number of houses. Until this moment, reconstruction is being done in the form of small batches. The last batch included 170 homes out of hundreds or even thousands of homes that have been damaged. UNRWA must bear its full responsibilities towards the refugees, especially in Gaza, who have been subjected to several wars.”

• SOUNDBITE (Ahmed Abu Aqlin-Citizen):

“I am here today in front of the agency’s headquarters to demand my right as a Palestinian citizen in the Strip. Our home was bombed in the 2014 war. I call on the authorities, and everyone who has a hand in the reconstruction process to speed up. Why all this procrastination for the suffering people. We depend on aid from UNRWA”

To Download Material