The UNRWA director in Lebanon, Richard Cook, said Tuesday that Hamas‘ victory last month in legislative elections in Palestine will not affect the nature of the agency‘s work. "Although we are following up on the developments, we eiterate that our activities are purely humanitarian and there are no political activities on the UNRWA‘s agenda," he added.
Cook made the comment during a visit to refugee camps in Tyre, where he inspected a number of clinics and schools.
Cook visited the Rashidieh refugee camp to inspect Al-Aqsa Secondary School, before holding a meeting at the camp with Fatah‘s commander in Lebanon, Brigadier Sultan Abu al-Aynayn. Cook‘s visit is the first since Hamas‘ electoral victory, and since a series of protests by Palestinian popular committees across southern refugee camps against a number of UNRWA decisions.
Palestinian refugees earlier this year staged protests against a decision to cut medical
coverage, although UNRWA maintains it did not make any cuts.
