Dozens of people protested outside the Beirut office of the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency on Wednesday after it put a staff member on administrative leave over possible violations of staff conduct regulations.
Demonstrators carry banners during a protest outside an office of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees after it put school teacher Fathi al-Sharif on administrative leave over possible violations of staff conduct regulations, in Beirut, March 27, 2024. Reuters/Mohamed Azakir
Dozens of people protested outside the Beirut office of the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency on Wednesday after it put a staff member on administrative leave over possible violations of staff conduct regulations.
School teacher Fathi al-Sharif was put on leave for three months without pay as the U.N. agency investigated alleged activities "that are in violation of the Agency's regulatory framework governing staff conduct," the agency told Reuters in a statement.
UNRWA said it could not discuss further details. It did not say whether he was accused of membership of an armed group.
Sharif spoke at the protest on Wednesday, where a crowd had gathered to support him. Several people told Reuters that he had been accused of links to Palestinian faction Hamas, which carried out a deadly attack in Israel in October.
"The job can go, and we will stay!" he told those gathered.
UNRWA, which provides essential services including education and health to Palestinian refugees across the region, has been in crisis.
Israel informed the U.N. that it will no longer approve UNRWA food convoys to the north of Gaza, where famine is possible by May, according to a U.N.-backed report published last week. An Israeli government spokesman said on Monday Israel would stop working with UNRWA altogether in Gaza.
Earlier this year, Israel accused 12 UNRWA employees in the Gaza Strip of taking part in the Hamas-led attack on Israeli soil on Oct. 7 that left 1,200 people dead, with more than 130 still held hostage by the group.
Israel launched a land, sea and air offensive in response that the Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza say has left more than 32,000 Palestinians dead.
Israel's allegations prompted a suspension of funding by more than a dozen donors, many of whom have resumed funding.
They also sparked an investigation by a U.N. oversight body and a separate review process by UNRWA, which its Lebanon representative Dorothee Klaus told Reuters would examine safeguards protecting its neutrality and independence.
She said she expected her branch of the agency would be consulted in a possible review of whether staff in Lebanon were affiliated to armed groups.
Reporting by Mohamad Azakir and Maya Gebeily
Hezbollah has received $200 million from Iran to help Lebanese displaced by this year’s war with Israel, two people with direct knowledge of the transfer said, the first significant aid from the group to supporters who bore the brunt of the conflict.
Israelis will on Wednesday mark three years since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering a military assault that destroyed much of Gaza, where conditions remain dire despite a year-old ceasefire that is meant to halt the war for good.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to Ankara and Istanbul from October 21 to 23, his office said on Tuesday, in what will be the first dedicated bilateral visit to NATO ally Turkey by a Canadian leader.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.