(Telegraph-UK) Jake Wallis Simons - Last week, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, was heckled while giving a speech in Lausanne, Switzerland. "UNRWA kidnapped my son," an anguished Israeli woman shouted from the audience. Ayelet Samerano's son, Yonatan, was murdered on Oct. 7. His body was then dragged into Gaza by ghoulish UNRWA staff. Ten months later, as his mother held up his picture during the UNRWA speech in Switzerland, a member of the audience snatched it from her hands and shoved it into a nearby bin. There could be no better metaphor for the contempt with which the UN seemingly holds Israel and Jews. In Gaza, UN facilities are regularly used by Hamas. In February, a subterranean terrorist command center was found directly underneath the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City. Why do the Palestinians need their own dedicated refugee agency? All other refugees in the world are serviced by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Refugees from other parts of the Middle East and Africa lose their refugee status when they settle permanently elsewhere. Under UNRWA, however, Palestinians are classed as refugees even when they become full citizens of other countries. A Palestinian born in the U.S. who becomes wealthy will, under UNRWA's terms, be classed as a "refugee" in perpetuity. The writer is editor of the Jewish Chronicle-UK.
2024-08-08 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive