STORY: :: UNRWA closes its East Jerusalem headquarters after an arson attack
:: Adam Bouloukos, Director of UNRWA Affairs, West Bank
''Last night there was a fire in our compound. Some locals started that fire. We had them on CCTV. They were standing outside of the kind of the other side of this, it's quite large compound with a lot of dead grass and dry grass. They started that fire, which expanded about 70 meters of dry brush. I put the fire out myself. I started with a colleague from our security team and then other colleagues helped to try to put the fire out. The fire department came a few minutes later. They had one truck with one fireman who was on the roof of the truck, kind of putting out the fire. I wish they had done more. "
:: Jerusalem
:: May 10, 2024
A second fire, lit shortly afterwards, burned near the agency's fuel depot, posing a serious risk of a major explosion, adding that he had been hit by stones as he sprayed the flames with a fire extinguisher.
Israeli police said they had opened an investigation into a brush fire adjacent to the UNRWA compound.
"Preliminary findings from the police investigation suggest the act was taken by young minors, purportedly falling below the statutory age threshold for criminal liability," it said.
Since the start of the war on Gaza last Oct 7, Israeli officials have called repeatedly for the agency to be shut down, accusing it of complicity with the Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza, a charge the United Nations strongly rejects.
