{"id":305899,"date":"2025-02-15T13:54:56","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T18:54:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&#038;p=305899"},"modified":"2025-02-18T10:28:15","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T15:28:15","slug":"press-conference-remarks-unrwa-15feb25","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/press-conference-remarks-unrwa-15feb25\/","title":{"rendered":"Press Conference Remarks by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini at the Munich Security Conference 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>15 February 2025<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">I am r<\/span>elieved that the ceasefire continues to hold in Gaza and that more hostages and detainees were released today.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">I call once again for the release of all hostages held in Gaza and for all parties to fulfill their obligations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">O<\/span>ur teams are staying and delivering amid exceptional challenges in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">Our<\/span>\u00a0work in Gaza has contributed to the success of the ceasefire:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li role=\"listitem\" data-aria-level=\"1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-listid=\"12\"><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">We have r<\/span>eached 1.5 million people with food aid.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li role=\"listitem\" data-aria-level=\"1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-listid=\"12\"><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">Expand<\/span>ed healthcare, including the re-opening of health centers and increasing the number of health points across the Gaza Strip. Every day, UNRWA\u00a0 teams give 18,000 health consultations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">In the<\/span>\u00a0occupied West Bank, our staff remain on ground. We are providing education for 50,000 boys and girls in UNRWA schools. Our health centres are open and running.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">Concerted<\/span>\u00a0efforts are ongoing to dismantle the agency including through the spread of disinformation.\u00a0<span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">UNRWA is a casualty of this war.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">C<\/span>hecking facts and reporting through firsthand official sources is the basic premise of independent reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">T<\/span>his is critical, especially given the prolonged\u00a0<span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">ban<\/span>\u00a0on independent, international media in Gaza<span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">I wish\u00a0<\/span>that you (the international media) can do more to get into Gaza to cover untold stories and verify information you receive.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">Billboards and ads accusing UNRWA of terrorism\u00a0<\/span>have appeared in major cities around the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">They were paid for by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">Google ad campaigns re-direct those seeking information about the Agency to websites replete with disinformation.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">This put<\/span>s the lives of the UNRWA personnel at risk, especially in the West Bank and in Gaza, where 273 UNRWA staff have been killed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">The\u00a0<\/span>objective of these attacks on the Agency is to strip the Palestinians of their refugee status.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">T<\/span>he rights of Palestine Refugees to protection and assistance are not derived from UNRWA\u2019s mandate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">They exist independently of the Agency<\/span>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">If UNRWA<\/span>\u00a0ceases to provide services and assistance to Palestine Refugees, their rights will remain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">T<\/span>here will be much greater emphasis on durable solutions like return or resettlement which UNRWA is\u00a0<u><strong><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">NOT\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/u><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">mandated to\u00a0<\/span>deliver.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">B<\/span>ottom line: Dismantling UNRWA will only deepen the suffering of Palestine Refugees, it will not cancel their refugee status.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">L<\/span>et me turn to the situation on the ground (briefly):\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">Gaza\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">Since\u00a0<\/span>the ceasefire began (nearly one month ago), significant progress has been made in the delivery of humanitarian aid; on average 500-600 trucks a day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">This is\u00a0<\/span>10 times more than before.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">It shows tha<\/span>t where there is a will, there is a way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">It<\/span>\u00a0is still not enough to meet the immense needs on the ground.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">The good news is that the UN and the wider humanitarian community\u00a0<\/span>have reduced the risk of famine and alleviated hunger.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">In the\u00a0<\/span>West Bank, violence is surging.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">It is<\/span>\u00a0under reported, with significant forced displacement and civilian suffering.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">At least 40,000 people were forced to flee refugee camps in the northern areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">We are recording an increase in the use of air strikes,\u202f<\/span>armored bulldozers, controlled detonations, and advanced weaponry by the Israeli Forces.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">Attacks<\/span>\/misuse of UNRWA facilities continues<\/strong><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0\u2013<\/span>\u00a0just last week, Israeli Forces used the UNRWA Arroub Camp Health Centre (near Bethlehem) as a temporary detention site during a search and arrest operation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">This<\/span>\u00a0incident follows a pattern of forcible entries into UNRWA installations in the West Bank since October 2023 (over 190), by\u00a0<u><strong><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">both<\/span><\/strong><\/u><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><u><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/u>Israeli\u00a0<\/span>Security Forces and Palestinian armed groups.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">Palestinian\u202farmed groups are also increasingly active in the northern West Bank, deploying improvised explosive devices inside refugee camps, including near UNRWA facilities and civilian infrastructure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">T<\/span>he Knesset bills which came into effect at the end of last January, cover two areas; one that bans UNRWA from working in Israeli territory and according to the Israeli authorities that also includes East Jerusalem and another that enforces a no-contact policy between UNRWA and Israeli authorities. The latter impacts our operations in the West Bank and Gaza, however it does not prevent activities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">T<\/span>he Agency\u2019s financial situation is more precarious than over.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">We\u00a0<\/span>operate from hand-to-mouth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">There is<\/span>\u00a0very little visibility\/clarity for the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">To<\/span>\u00a0conclude, we are today at a key turning point<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">A clear choice<\/span>\u00a0lies before us:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li role=\"listitem\" data-aria-level=\"1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;multilevel&quot;}\" data-listid=\"15\"><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">We can allow UNRWA to implode because of the Knesset legislation and the suspension of funding by key donors.<\/span>\u00a0This would however create a vacuum and potentially sow the seeds for more despair and extremism in the future.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li role=\"listitem\" data-aria-level=\"1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-list-defn-props=\"{&quot;335552541&quot;:1,&quot;335559685&quot;:720,&quot;335559991&quot;:360,&quot;469769226&quot;:&quot;Symbol&quot;,&quot;469769242&quot;:[8226],&quot;469777803&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;469777804&quot;:&quot;\uf0b7&quot;,&quot;469777815&quot;:&quot;hybridMultilevel&quot;}\" data-listid=\"14\"><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">Or we can allow the Agency to progressively conclude its mandate within a political framework<\/span>\u00a0and play a key role in the transitional process including through handing over the Agency\u2019s public-like services to empowered Palestinian institutions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\">Thank you. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; 15 February 2025 I am relieved that the ceasefire continues to hold in Gaza and that more hostages and detainees were released today. I call once again for the release of all hostages held in Gaza and for all parties to fulfill their obligations.\u00a0 Our teams are staying and delivering amid exceptional challenges in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/press-conference-remarks-unrwa-15feb25\/\"> [&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":299,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"country":[],"document-category":[2197,2565],"document-source":[1817],"committee-meeting":[],"document-subject":[1945,2265,2005,1745,6891,6251],"entity":[1729],"document-language":[6542],"class_list":["post-305899","document","type-document","status-publish","hentry","document-category-briefing","document-category-press-briefing","document-source-united-nations-relief-and-works-agency-for-palestine-refugees-in-the-near-east-unrwa","document-subject-assistance","document-subject-ceasefire","document-subject-gaza-strip","document-subject-refugees-and-displaced-persons","document-subject-unrwa","document-subject-west-bank","entity-united-nations-system","document-language-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/305899","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\/299"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/305899\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":305900,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document\/305899\/revisions\/305900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305899"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=305899"},{"taxonomy":"document-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-category?post=305899"},{"taxonomy":"document-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-source?post=305899"},{"taxonomy":"committee-meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/committee-meeting?post=305899"},{"taxonomy":"document-subject","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-subject?post=305899"},{"taxonomy":"entity","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/entity?post=305899"},{"taxonomy":"document-language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/document-language?post=305899"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}