Jerusalem, Jan 10: The United Nations refugee
agency on Saturday slammed an Israeli ambassador's accusations that
its Gaza employees were Hamas loyalists.
"We are getting mixed message from the Israeli
authorities," UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness told reporters.
"Yesterday (they) expressed deep regret about the death
of our workers and urged us to resume our humanitarian work as
soon as possible.
"And yet today an Israeli ambassador is accusing those
very same workers of being terrorists. It seems that the
Israeli authorities are tying themselves in knots."
Israel's ambassador to Austria, Dan Ashbel, said in an
interview with the Austrian weekly "profil" to be published
Monday that UNRWA's workers "are Hamas people who distribute
aid to those loyal to Hamas."
"This aid organisation has been taken over by Hamas and
is being used as a weapon against its own people," he added.
A UN official speaking on condition of anonymity said the
agency has run background checks on all its Palestinian staff
and handed a list of all their names over to Israeli
authorities.
On Tuesday 43 people were killed in an Israeli strike on
an UNRWA school in the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya. Israeli
officials said Hamas was storing weapons inside the school.
UNRWA said there was no "militant activity" inside the
school compound.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, January 11, 2009, 00:00