Palestinian activists in front of one of the closed Unrwa centers on Wednesday. Photo ANI
BEIRUT — Palestinian refugees shut down the U.N. agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) centers, offices and schools across refugee camps in Lebanon on Wednesday, including its main office in Beirut. They are protesting what they describe as indifference to their demands over the "arbitrary" suspension of five teachers since October 2024. According to the Committee for Monitoring the Defense of Suspended Teachers, the suspensions coincided with the visit to Lebanon by UNRWA Secretary-General Philippe Lazzarini.
"This major popular escalation, in response to the call from the committee and several youth organizations … involved the closure of all UNRWA offices and centers, except for clinics and the hygiene sector," according to the committee's statement. It explained that "hundreds of young activists from different Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon acted early [Wednesday] morning, forcibly closing these various places."
The text points to "Lazzarini's visit to Lebanon being experienced by Palestinian refugees as a provocation, as this official ignored their demands.'
The statement adds that "Lazzarini’s visit was seen by Palestinian refugees as a provocation, as this official ignored their demands."
UNRWA's response
"The staff members are [UNRWA] employees who were placed on administrative leave with pay in October 2024 by the UNRWA commissioner general, while an investigation is conducted by the Department of Internal Oversight Services at UNRWA headquarters," the U.N. agency told L’Orient-Le Jour.
According to UNRWA, "these measures were taken in response to allegations that these staff members violated their obligations under the Office's regulatory framework governing staff conduct. Throughout the investigation, the staff members' rights are fully respected, and they have the opportunity to respond to the allegations in accordance with the established procedure."
"Due to the confidential nature of the investigation, [we are] not able to provide more details at this time," UNRWA stated, adding "UNRWA remains committed to ensuring the transparency and accountability of its services, while maintaining the integrity of its procedures."
A sit-in on Friday
The strikers nevertheless remain firm in their stance. "This strike is intended to pressure UNRWA for the organization to reverse the suspension of the five teachers and reinstate them in their positions," claimed the committee, recalling that several demonstrations had already been held on the same issue.
In an interview with L'Orient-Le Jour, Walid Kilani, a communications official for Hamas in Lebanon, described the movements as "popular" and condemned the "unjustified sanctions against teachers for their political opinions or party affiliations." He clarified that the five teachers are not members of Hamas. "But the Palestinian cause is theirs; we are all refugees after all," he said.
Kilani emphasized that Wednesday’s strike "is a warning to UNRWA" and revealed plans for a sit-in outside the organization’s headquarters on Friday morning.
This is not the first time Palestinian refugees have organized strikes in response to teacher suspensions by UNRWA. On March 27, 2024, more than 100 demonstrators gathered outside UNRWA's Beirut headquarters to protest the suspension of Fateh Charif, the director of the UNRWA school in Deir Yassine at the al-Bass Palestinian refugee camp in Sour, southern Lebanon. Charif was suspended for an "alleged violation" of agency rules.