Aug. 13 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for the occupied territory, Sarah Muscroft, has been removed from her post after claiming that the rockets launched by Islamic Jihad from Gaza were the that “provoked” the Israeli military response that last week claimed more than 40 lives in the Palestinian enclave.
“I am relieved by the ceasefire agreed to end hostilities affecting both Palestinian and Israeli civilians. I condemn the indiscriminate firing of Islamic Jihad rockets that has provoked the Israeli reaction. It is essential that all civilians be able to safe. Ceasefire must be respected,” Muscroft posted on Twitter.
The message unleashed a bitter controversy and criticism mainly from the pro-Palestinian side in which they accused the head of the OCHA of blaming the Palestinians for the escalation of violence, which forced Muscroft to delete this post and apologize: “All civilians everywhere must be able to live in peace,” he said. He eventually closed his Twitter account.
An OCHA spokesman has confirmed to the Israeli newspaper ‘The Times of Israel’ that Muscroft “will be assigned to a new role” without knowing at the moment if it will be in East Jerusalem, as it has been until now.
“OCHA has been present in the occupied Palestinian territories for 20 years and works to help meet humanitarian needs guided by the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and humanity,” said spokesman Jens Laerke.
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