{"id":252935,"date":"2021-05-25T17:16:37","date_gmt":"2021-05-25T21:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=252935"},"modified":"2021-06-07T17:24:02","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T21:24:02","slug":"situation-in-gaza-25-may-2021-daily-press-briefing-excerpts","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/situation-in-gaza-25-may-2021-daily-press-briefing-excerpts\/","title":{"rendered":"Situation in Gaza \u2013 25 May 2021 Daily Press Briefing \u2013 (Excerpts)"},"content":{"rendered":"

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY ST\u00c9PHANE DUJARRIC,
\n<\/strong>
\nSPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANT\u00d3NIO GUTERRES<\/strong>
\n
\nTUESDAY, 25 MAY 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

GAZA<\/strong>
\nToday, COVID-9 vaccines from the COVAX facility were dispatched to Gaza, through the Erez crossing, with the support of the Israeli authorities. This crossing is also open for international humanitarian staff. However, it remained closed to Palestinian travellers since 11 May, including to humanitarian personnel and those with medical referrals for treatment not available in Gaza.<\/p>\n

The Kerem Shalom crossing is open for the passage of humanitarian goods. And today, we are happy to report that two UNRWA trucks carrying 38 metric tonnes of food provided by the World Food Programme were able to pass into Gaza.<\/p>\n

The Rafah crossing, which is in the south between Gaza and Egypt was also open in both directions yesterday, allowing for the entry of some humanitarian aid from bilateral partners. We understand that supplies from Egypt, Kuwait and others are being channelled through Rafah. We understand that the flow of Egyptian-imported supplies including fuel continues at a stable pace.<\/p>\n

We reiterate the need for\u202fall crossings into Gaza to be opened and stay open. This is essential for the entrance of humanitarian supplies, including fuel for basic services and supplies to curb the spread of COVID-19 virus. Opening the crossings will also ensure the exit of patients who need life-saving treatment and the crossing of Palestinian humanitarian personnel who are critical to the response.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Questions and Answers<\/u><\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Thanks, Steph.\u00a0 Two questions for you today.\u00a0 First one, US re-opening Jerusalem consulate, upgrading\u2026 effectively upgrading ties with Palestinians, does the SG welcome this?\u00a0 Or do you\u2026<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I mean, whether or not it\u2019s actually happened, I\u2019ve seen the reports of the intent to happen.\u00a0 If it does happen, we do think it is a positive step.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Thank you, St\u00e9phane.\u00a0 I have two questions also.\u00a0 My first question is about the UNRWA director in Gaza.\u00a0 His name is Matthias Schmale.\u00a0 His last name is spelled as S-c-h\u2026<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 I know who he\u2026 Abdelhamid, I know who he is.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Yeah.\u00a0 He gave an interview on the 23rd to Israeli Channel 12 in which he said that Israel\u2026 he believes that there was huge sophistication in the way that Israeli military struck over the last 11\u00a0days, and he said they tried to avoid civilians.\u00a0 And that has generated condemnation from many Palestinian groups and human rights.<\/p>\n

How he could say that the Israeli were trying to avoid civilians when the family of\u2026 just one family of Abu Hatab, nine of them were killed, including seven children and two women, and another building lost 43\u00a0civilians, and he\u2026 UN staff goes on Israeli channel and says Israel was trying to avoid civilians and they were targeted with sophistication and precision.\u00a0 Is that your views or UN views\u2026?\u00a0 [cross talk]<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Abdelhamid, I have not seen the interview.\u00a0 What I can tell you is that I know Matthias has stood side by side with the Palestine refugees that UNRWA serves for a long time, especially during the 11\u00a0days of the conflict.\u00a0 He is a dedicated UN staff member.\u00a0 He is a true humanitarian from what I know of him, and I would encourage people to read the whole interview.\u00a0 But if you\u2019re looking for clarifications, I would check with UNRWA.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 I do need because the way you said it, I mean, it was like defending him statement, which is\u2026 [cross talk]<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 No, I\u2019m defending him because I know him.\u00a0 Okay.\u00a0 Your second question?<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 What specific steps is the Â鶹APP taking to ensure that any reconstruction materials that are going into Gaza do not end up in the hands of Hamas or other Palestinian terrorists to be used for rebuilding their rocket or other\u2026 arsenal or other weaponry?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Look, for the aid that we bring in, we distribute it ourselves.<\/p>\n

Okay.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Who\u2026 distribute it.\u00a0 Who do you distribute it to?\u00a0 It\u2019s distributed\u2026 [cross talk]<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 People\u2026 we are\u2026 I mean, our focus right now is on immediate humanitarian help, food, COV\u2026 basic supplies and vaccines.\u00a0 Those are usually being done through the existing UNRWA facilities and as well as other UN agencies.<\/p>\n

C\u00e9lhia, and then we\u2019ll go back.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 [United States] Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken is today in the Middle East.\u00a0 He met with Benjamin Netanyahu.\u00a0 He\u2019s going to meet with the Palestinian Authority and the civil society.\u00a0 What are the hopes of restarting some sort of negotiation or talks to try to bring back the Quartet and the two-State solution, to make it more clear now that the new Administration is more open to that?<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Well, it\u2019s\u2026 I think as the Secretary-General said, we were very much\u2026 we welcome the ceasefire.\u00a0 We very much hope the parties will be\u2026 will use it as an opportunity to move forward, and we hope that the involvement of not only the Â鶹APP, but others will push everybody in that same direction.<\/p>\n

Please.<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Thank you.\u00a0 Going back to Gaza, apart from the emergency aid that you were talking about, yesterday there was a briefing by the Department of State.\u00a0 And they say that their objective\u2026 one of the objectives of Secretary Blinken\u2019s visit is to create a mechanism, a partnership between the UN and the Palestinian Authority in order to distribute the aid to rebuild Gaza, not just the emergency, and make sure they\u2026 do you have any information about how they\u2026<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Well, first of all, we expect the launch of our humanitarian appeal to be on Thursday.\u00a0 Just for your planning, we expect a briefing by Lynn Hastings, our Humanitarian Coordinator, to be piped into here, I think, 9\u00a0a.m. on Thursday.<\/p>\n

(I think somebody has a microphone open besides me, and that\u2019s not good.\u00a0 Thank you.)<\/p>\n

And once the appeal is launched, we\u2019ll have more detail on the mechanics, but we, obviously, very much welcome the United States\u2019 backing of the UN\u2019s humanitarian and longer-term efforts.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

Question<\/u>:\u00a0 Yes, please.\u00a0 Thank you.\u00a0 So, St\u00e9phane, we see that in Aqsa Mosque area in East Jerusalem, the incidents are back to be a daily scene now, clashes between Palestinian protests and worshippers and Israeli forces.\u00a0 And a number of Palestinians have been detained as well, after the ceasefire.\u00a0 What\u2019s your message on that?\u00a0 I have another question.<\/p>\n

Spokesman<\/u>:\u00a0 Our message is that we\u2019re, obviously, very concerned about these incidents.\u00a0 We\u2019re watching what\u2019s going on, on the\u2026 around the Old City.\u00a0 It\u2019s very important that there be calm around holy sites and that people be free to worship in peace.<\/p>\n

\/…<\/p>\n

For information media. Not an official record.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY ST\u00c9PHANE DUJARRIC, SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL ANT\u00d3NIO GUTERRES TUESDAY, 25 MAY 2021 \/… GAZA Today, COVID-9 vaccines from the COVAX facility were dispatched to Gaza, through the Erez crossing, with the support of the Israeli authorities. This crossing is also open for international humanitarian staff. However, it remained closed to […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"template-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[2553],"document-category":[2573],"document-source":[5352,6169,1817,2609],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[2517,1769,1945,2265,2057,2005,2533,5200,2349,3589],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[],"class_list":["post-252935","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","country-united-states-of-america","document-category-highlights-of-the-noon-briefing","document-source-secretary-general","document-source-united-nations-department-of-global-communications","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-source-united-nations-resident-and-humanitarian-coordinator-for-the-opt","document-subject-access-and-movement","document-subject-armed-conflict","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-ceasefire","document-subject-food","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-health","document-subject-humanitarian-relief","document-subject-living-conditions","document-subject-population","entity-united-nations-system"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/252935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/document"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/252935\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=252935"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=252935"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=252935"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=252935"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=252935"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=252935"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=252935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}