Israel’s campaign to discredit and destroy the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has no parallel in the history of the United Nations, its outgoing chief has told The Independent.
Philippe Lazzarini, who led UNRWA for six years, said the agency has faced the threat of a terrorist designation, legislation, international lawsuits, lobbying of donors and what he called an “extraordinary fierce disinformation campaign”, including paid adverts, all while nearly 400 of its staff have been killed in Gaza.
