refugee camp – European Affairs Magazine

1000 UNRWA employees started a general strike to protest against the agency

22 Novembre 2016 BreakingNews @en di

Around 1000 employees, working at UNRWA’s headquarter in Gaza, started on Monday a general strike to protest what they described as the agency’s lack of response to their demands. The strike came after the West Bank and Gaza joint committee decided to escalate measures after UNRWA failed to solve many issues relating to finances, cuts and services provided to Palestinians in the refugee camps, said secretary of the Federation of UNRWA Employees Yousef Hamdouna. Suheil el-Hindi, chairman of the Teachers Union of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said in a press release that the employees went on a strike because of the administration’s disregard of the workers’ rights.

Lebanese authorities are building a wall to isolate the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon

The Lebanese authorities have installed the first blocks of a wall that will isolate the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, named Ein Al-Hilweh. The camp, which is located southeast of Sidon city, is overcrowded with 80,000 refugees. The wall sparked anger within the Palestinians and the refugee communities, calling it the “Apartheid Wall” and “the wall of shame,” saying it will turn the camp into a big prison, and compared it to Israeli apartheid wall in the occupied Palestinian territories. Authorities in Lebanon maintain of the security watchtower will enable the army to better control the camp amid claims that militants seek refugee there.