SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Palestinians take part in a protest against the reduction aid from the UN, in Rafah in the Gaza Strip on April 1, 2013. (AFP/Said Khatib)
Following Protest, UN Suspends Assistance in Gaza Strip
Apr 05, 2013
The UN's relief agency in Gaza has suspended its cash assistance program in the Gaza strip after protesters on Thursday stormed their offices.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) provides both cash, food, and other forms of direct assistance to nearly 800,000 Palestinian refugees living inside Gaza. That figure accounts for approximately two-thirds of the population. Though the head of UNRWA said food assistance would continue, the suspension of cash aid will affect approximately 25,000 people per day.
Protests against the agency grew throughout the week following UNRWA's announcement that budget cuts would lead to a decreasel in aid. The culmination of anger resulted in some protesters storming the office headquarters in Gaza City. Reports indicate the UN security were able to remove those protesters and Hamas officials announced that it would improve security as well. Still, the UN announced the shuttering of operations.
"This is a very regrettable situation for us to be in," said Director of UNRWA Operations in Gaza Robert Turner in a statement.
"These demonstrations affect our ability to provide much needed service to the Palestine refugees in Gaza and--because they also targeted the Gaza headquarters building--our operations in the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria," He added. "We cannot tolerate these ongoing threats to our staff: their safety is of crucial concern at the moment. Any other affected installations will also remain closed."
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called the UN's decision "unjustified" and demanded a reversal on Friday.
"There is a right of peaceful protest for Palestinian refugees," Zuhri said. "We call on UNRWA to reevaluate its position and not to overreact to residents' protest."
As Al-Jazeera reports:
In a separate interview later, UNRWA's Sami Mshasha tried to clarify the agency's position:
________________________________
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The UN's relief agency in Gaza has suspended its cash assistance program in the Gaza strip after protesters on Thursday stormed their offices.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) provides both cash, food, and other forms of direct assistance to nearly 800,000 Palestinian refugees living inside Gaza. That figure accounts for approximately two-thirds of the population. Though the head of UNRWA said food assistance would continue, the suspension of cash aid will affect approximately 25,000 people per day.
Protests against the agency grew throughout the week following UNRWA's announcement that budget cuts would lead to a decreasel in aid. The culmination of anger resulted in some protesters storming the office headquarters in Gaza City. Reports indicate the UN security were able to remove those protesters and Hamas officials announced that it would improve security as well. Still, the UN announced the shuttering of operations.
"This is a very regrettable situation for us to be in," said Director of UNRWA Operations in Gaza Robert Turner in a statement.
"These demonstrations affect our ability to provide much needed service to the Palestine refugees in Gaza and--because they also targeted the Gaza headquarters building--our operations in the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria," He added. "We cannot tolerate these ongoing threats to our staff: their safety is of crucial concern at the moment. Any other affected installations will also remain closed."
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called the UN's decision "unjustified" and demanded a reversal on Friday.
"There is a right of peaceful protest for Palestinian refugees," Zuhri said. "We call on UNRWA to reevaluate its position and not to overreact to residents' protest."
As Al-Jazeera reports:
In a separate interview later, UNRWA's Sami Mshasha tried to clarify the agency's position:
________________________________
The UN's relief agency in Gaza has suspended its cash assistance program in the Gaza strip after protesters on Thursday stormed their offices.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) provides both cash, food, and other forms of direct assistance to nearly 800,000 Palestinian refugees living inside Gaza. That figure accounts for approximately two-thirds of the population. Though the head of UNRWA said food assistance would continue, the suspension of cash aid will affect approximately 25,000 people per day.
Protests against the agency grew throughout the week following UNRWA's announcement that budget cuts would lead to a decreasel in aid. The culmination of anger resulted in some protesters storming the office headquarters in Gaza City. Reports indicate the UN security were able to remove those protesters and Hamas officials announced that it would improve security as well. Still, the UN announced the shuttering of operations.
"This is a very regrettable situation for us to be in," said Director of UNRWA Operations in Gaza Robert Turner in a statement.
"These demonstrations affect our ability to provide much needed service to the Palestine refugees in Gaza and--because they also targeted the Gaza headquarters building--our operations in the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria," He added. "We cannot tolerate these ongoing threats to our staff: their safety is of crucial concern at the moment. Any other affected installations will also remain closed."
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called the UN's decision "unjustified" and demanded a reversal on Friday.
"There is a right of peaceful protest for Palestinian refugees," Zuhri said. "We call on UNRWA to reevaluate its position and not to overreact to residents' protest."
As Al-Jazeera reports:
In a separate interview later, UNRWA's Sami Mshasha tried to clarify the agency's position:
________________________________
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.