The Commissioner-General says the Israeli government has launched a smear campaign against the UN agency.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has accused the Israeli government of “buying ads on Google to prevent users from donating” to the agency.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a post on X that Israel's attempts to smear the agency damage its reputation and put the lives of its staff at risk.
“These deliberate efforts to spread misinformation should be stopped and investigated,” Lazzarini wrote on Saturday, calling for more regulations for companies, including social media platforms, to combat misinformation and hate speech.
The spread of misinformation and disinformation continues to be used as a weapon in the war on #Loop.
As part of its campaign to undermine and discredit @UNRWAThe Israeli government has been buying ads on @Google block users from donating to the Agency + undertake a…
—Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) August 31, 2024
“The spread of misinformation and disinformation continues to be used as a weapon in the war in Gaza,” he wrote.
Israel has campaigned for years against UNRWA, the main organization providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory and providing services to Palestinian refugees in other countries since 1949, alleging it has connections to “terrorists” and pushing for its closure.
Last month, the UN denounced an Israeli government spokesman after he described Lazzarini as a “terrorist sympathiser”.
David Mencer had attacked Lazzarini in a videotaped speech, claiming the agency had been deeply infiltrated by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The UN called the comments “reprehensible” and warned that they endangered Lazzarini’s safety.
Earlier this year, Israel claimed some of the agency's staff took part in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, prompting more than a dozen international donors to suspend their support.
A UN-authorized independent review concluded that Israel had failed to provide credible evidence for its allegations and most donors have since restored funding.
Israeli strikes in Gaza have frequently targeted UNRWA facilities, killing 212 of its staff and affecting at least 70 percent of its schools, according to the organization.
At least 40,691 people have been killed and 94,060 wounded in Israel's war on Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. At least 1,139 people have been killed in Hamas-led attacks on Israel, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on official Israeli statistics.
