Since he was appointed UNRWA Commissioner General in March 2020, Philippe Lazzarini has faced two major crises. The first, as soon as it arrived, the pandemic; the second is looming this week, with the most serious confrontation between Israel and Palestinian militias since 2014. Quite a double challenge for this 57-year-old veteran Swiss-Italian diplomat with more than 30 years of experience in the area of humanitarian assistance and who has carried out his work in conflict zones for the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, among other organizations.

The United Nations agency for the Palestinian refugee population (UNRWA) was born in 1949 with the mandate to provide aid and protection to the more than five million Palestinian refugees scattered in the West Bank, Gaza and neighboring states (such as Jordan, Lebanon or Syria). ). Its tasks include providing education, medical assistance and social services. Concerned about the military escalation in recent days and its impact on Palestinian minors, yesterday the agency expressed in a statement its “condemnation for the murder of four refugee minors” in the Beit Hanun camp (Gaza) and reminded the parties in its obligation to comply with International Law. A concern that Lazzarini, visiting Madrid to meet with the Spanish authorities, reiterates to ELMUNDO.es in this interview.

Question.- How are you observing this new escalation of the conflict?

Answer.- With extreme anguish. There has been an unprecedented escalation in recent days. Unfortunately it has been a crisis that could have been avoided. We have a very tense situation between Gaza and Israel, with the firing of rockets, a hundred injured, with a considerable number of deaths.. We have published a statement because four refugee children were killed, among other nine minors just yesterday [for Tuesday], we have a damaged school in the Gaza Strip and this morning our headquarters in the city of Gaza has suffered collateral damage. So it is a very worrying situation and I hope that all efforts lead to de-escalation..

At the same time, the situation has been extremely worrying in the West Bank, where we have seen in recent weeks the tensions caused by the threat of expulsion of Palestinian refugees in Sheikh Jarrah, families who have lived in their homes for 60 and 70 years and today [yesterday] your property has been evicted by a group of settlers, which is considered forced displacement, which is against international law and humanitarian law. At the same time, we have also seen during the Ramadan period tensions with the faithful who wanted to access the Al Aqsa Mosque.. So all the events that have taken place in Jerusalem give context to what I would call frustration among the Palestinian population due to a complete lack of concern for a completely deadlocked peace process, which has contributed to the situation we are in today.. Make no mistake: these have been the triggers and there are other triggers, but in reality all this is nothing more than the expression of a total absence of a political solution to a conflict that has lasted several decades..

Q.- What is your biggest concern right now in the humanitarian field?

R.- That the health system in the Gaza Strip is completely overwhelmed. We must not forget that we are still in the midst of the Covid crisis in Gaza and that the health system was already on the verge of collapse. With this military escalation and with a number of people who have been injured, the risk is that the health system becomes even more saturated which can lead to its total collapse.. On top of that, the whole humanitarian tragedy of people losing their homes, children becoming collateral damage…. In Gaza we have a population already suffering from the blockade and the vast majority living below the poverty line, so this escalation can only worsen their already extremely difficult situation.. Another source of concern is what is happening in East Jerusalem, where Israel uses live ammunition to respond to demonstrations, which threatens people's lives.. The expulsion of Palestinian refugees in Sheikh Jarrah may pave the way for additional forced expulsions in East Jerusalem. All of this is generating added humanitarian crises that can and should be avoided..

Q.- To all this is added the Covid. What phase of the pandemic are the West Bank and Gaza in? Is progress being made on vaccination?

R.- UNRWA is part of the response in vaccination against the virus for refugees and we are taking an active part in vaccination in Gaza and the West Bank. Vaccines have started to become available, but not yet in sufficient quantity, unfortunately. Covid cases have been declining in the last week but we still need to work hard to avoid a new wave in the Strip, an overcrowded area. The difficulty for people is above all to balance between following the strict restrictions against the coronavirus and being able to earn a living.. That is the struggle: for many people there is no option and they feel that the measures prevent them from accessing sustenance and feeding their families