PNGO and PHROC Condemn Statements of the UNRWA Gaza Director on Israel’s Aggression on the Gaza Strip – Palestinian Centre for Human Rights
25 05. 2021
▻https://www.pchrgaza.org/en/phroc-and-pngo-condemn-statements-of-the-unrwa-gaza-director-on-israels-ag
The Palestinian Network of Non-Governmental Organisations (PNGO) and the Palestinian Human Rights Organisations’ Council (PHROC)) condemn the recent media statements made by Mr. Matthias Schmale, Gaza Director of the United Nations Reliefs and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), regarding the latest Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.
In an interview with Channel 12, an Israeli channel, on 23 May 2021, Mr. Schmale stated that he “would not dispute” the precision of the IDF’s bombardments of the Gaza Strip and that he believes that there was “huge sophistication in the way the Israeli military struck over the last 11 days.” He added that the Israeli military “did not hit, with some exceptions, civilian targets”, and that his concern was that the strikes were more vicious in terms of their impact.[1]
In providing this kind of testimony, Mr. Schmale completely ignored the crimes committed during the latest Israeli offensive against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, including Palestinian refugees, who make up around 70% of the population.
In al-Shati refugee camp, which receives services from UNRWA, 9 civilians, including 7 children and 2 women were killed after Israeli warplanes launched six missiles at a three-storey house without a warning. The house belonged to Alaa Abu Hatab, who survived the attack along with his 5-month-old baby, but the rest of their family was killed. Another incident that Mr. Schmale should be reminded of is the massacre that took place on Al-Wehda Street on 16 May 2021, when Israeli warplanes targeted a residential building killing 43 innocent civilians, some of them constitute entire families. Both incidents are enough evidence to demonstrate Israel’s disregard for the lives of innocent Palestinian and its lack of precision and sophistication when conducting its military operations. (...)