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Israel makes official complaint over tunnel discovered under UNWRA school
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN has made an official complaint to the UN Security Council after a Hamas tunnel was found under two UN-run schools in the Gaza Strip.
Last Friday, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced the existence of the tunnel, which passes under the Maghazi Elementary Boys A&B School and the Maghazi Preparatory Boys School, in the Maghazi refugee camp.
Danny Danon, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, said that “the latest finding verifies once again that Hamas’s cruelty knows no limits, including endangering centres of learning and education, and using children as human shields”.
UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness said that the UN body “condemns the existence of such tunnels in the strongest possible terms. It is unacceptable that students and staff are placed at risk in such a way”.
Hamas denied UNRWA’s announcement of the tunnel. Its Spokesperson in the Gaza Strip, Fawzi Barhoum, said that “these claims are liable to be used by the occupation army as an excuse for its crimes in turning civilians into targets,” adding that “they have no resistance activity at the school in question”.
During Operation Protective Edge in 2014 Hamas weapons were repeatedly discovered stored in UNRWA’s schools.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the dismantling of UNRWA, arguing that the UN body “perpetuates, and does not solve, the Palestinian refugee problem. Therefore, the time has come to disband UNRWA and integrate it into the UNHCR [UN High Commission for Refugees]”.
At the weekly Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu also said that he told US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, who was in Israel last week touring the southern and northern borders, “that the time has come for the UN to reconsider the continued existence on UNRWA”.
Chris Gunness subsequently told reporters that “UNRWA receives its mandate from the UN General Assembly… and only the UN General Assembly, by a majority vote, can change our mandate. The situation of Palestine refugees needs to be resolved as part of a political resolution of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. It is time for political action to resolve this longstanding crisis”.