«Israel» Demands Expulsion of UN Official

Local Editor

The "Israeli" Walla news site reported that the so-called "Israeli" Ministry of Foreign Affairs is demanding that Robert Piper, a United Nations staffer be replaced after learning of comments he made that were critical of the "Israeli" entity.

The entity is also threatening to revoke the residency permit of the staffer, who works as the UN Humanitarian Aid and Development Coordinator.

Last week, Piper released a press statement which the entity considered critical of the regime on the fiftieth anniversary of the Six Day War and its subsequent military control over the West Bank area excluding East al-Quds [Jerusalem].

"Occupation is ugly," said Piper, who is an Australian native. "Living under foreign military rule for years on end generates despair, suffocates initiative, and leaves generations in a kind of political and economic limbo."

If Piper's tenure is not terminated, the "Israeli" entity said that it would be difficult to continue working with him, which could harm coordination of humanitarian aid to Arabs living in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, reports i24News.

Piper has worked with various humanitarian groups and UN development agencies for nearly thirty years. Since 2015, he has served as the "Special Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs and Development for the Occupied Palestinian Territory."

In the past two years, he delivered a series of statements that had caused resentment and anger in al-Quds.

Piper wrote in his statement that "Israeli" regime "policies have violated international humanitarian law as well as the human rights mechanisms to which ‘Israel' is a party."

The statement added that "‘Israel's' occupation is backed by force. Accompanying that ever-present security apparatus have been deliberate policies that have isolated Palestinian communities from each other, ruptured social cohesion, profoundly limited economic activity, and deprived many of their basic rights - of movement, of expression, of access to health, and much more."

Earlier this year, Piper criticized the "Israeli" entity for its land, air and sea blockade of Gaza, now entering its tenth year.

As of press time, the UN had not responded to requests for comment, Walla reported.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team