The Israeli Executive charged this Wednesday against the Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, whom he accuses of "not telling the truth" regarding the occupation by his forces of an educational center located in Jerusalem and managed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
In a direct response to the criticism made by Guterres, the spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oren Marmorstein, stated: "You are simply not telling the truth, again." The UN leader had urged the Israeli authorities to "immediately cease their interference in UNRWA facilities, vacate, return, and restore without delay all affected facilities to the United Nations."
Marmorstein defended Israel's actions and, in a message published on social media, maintained that "UNRWA never had property rights over the facility and occupied it illegally," before emphasizing that "the facility is intended to serve as a school and community center for Arab children from the Kafr Aqab neighborhood."
The spokesperson also accused the Secretary-General and the agency of prioritizing their attacks on Israel over the needs of the local population. "You and UNRWA prefer to make unfounded attacks against Israel rather than act in favor of the interests of the children of Kafr Aqab. This is cynicism in its worst form," he pointed out, insisting that the measures taken by Israel "were carried out in line with Israeli and international law."
In his argument, Marmorstein recalled that the Israeli Parliament approved a rule that bans UNRWA activities in Israeli territory "in light of conclusive evidence that UNRWA employees participated in the massacre of October 7 (2023), that UNRWA employees were terrorist operatives, and that UNRWA facilities were systematically used for terrorist activities."
Israeli authorities have repeatedly accused the agency of maintaining ties with the Palestinian Islamist movement since the attacks of October 7, 2023. However, an independent review led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna concluded that Israel did not present evidence to support those accusations.
For his part, Guterres condemned on Tuesday the actions of Israel and declared himself "deeply alarmed" by the operation, which the Israeli government justifies with a project to build a road and an "educational complex" at that site. The Secretary-General warned that this decision will prevent many students from continuing their studies. "For more than 70 years, the center has provided support to thousands of Palestinian refugees through vocational training and access to employment," he recalled.
The UNRWA was created in 1949 by the United Nations General Assembly with the mandate to provide humanitarian aid and protection to the Palestinian refugee population in the Middle East until a solution to their situation is achieved. The agency carries out its operations in the West Bank —including East Jerusalem—, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.