Borrell Arrives in Lebanon, Says Priority is to Avoid Regional Escalation

 EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell - DPA
 EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell - DPA
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Borrell Arrives in Lebanon, Says Priority is to Avoid Regional Escalation

 EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell - DPA
 EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell - DPA

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell affirmed that his current priority is to avoid regional escalation and to advance diplomatic efforts with a view to creating the conditions to reach a just and lasting peace between Israel, Palestine and in the region.

His comments came in a statement on X platform after he arrived in Lebanon, noting that he will hold important meetings on the impact of the Gaza war on Lebanon and the region.

Earlier last week, a report by the EU revealed that Borrell will meet in Lebanon with Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri, Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants Abdallah Bou Habib and Lebanese Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun.

The statement also said that Borrell will hold talks with Head of Mission and Force Commander of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) General Aroldo Lazaro.

"The High Representative will re-emphasize the need to advance diplomatic efforts with regional leaders with a view to creating the conditions to reach a just and lasting peace between Israel, Palestine and in the region."

 



UNRWA Lebanon Says Not Impacted by US Aid Freeze or New Israeli Law

 Head of UNRWA in Lebanon Dorothee Klaus speaks during a press conference in her offices in Beirut, Lebanon January 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Head of UNRWA in Lebanon Dorothee Klaus speaks during a press conference in her offices in Beirut, Lebanon January 29, 2025. (Reuters)
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UNRWA Lebanon Says Not Impacted by US Aid Freeze or New Israeli Law

 Head of UNRWA in Lebanon Dorothee Klaus speaks during a press conference in her offices in Beirut, Lebanon January 29, 2025. (Reuters)
Head of UNRWA in Lebanon Dorothee Klaus speaks during a press conference in her offices in Beirut, Lebanon January 29, 2025. (Reuters)

The director of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon said on Wednesday that the agency had not been affected by US President Donald Trump's halt to US foreign aid funding or by an Israeli ban on its operations.

"UNRWA currently is not receiving any US funding so there is no direct impact of the more recent decisions related to the UN system for UNRWA," Dorothee Klaus told reporters at UNRWA's field office in Lebanon.

US funding to UNRWA was suspended last year until March 2025 under a deal reached by US lawmakers and after Israel accused 12 of the agency's 13,000 employees in Gaza of participating in the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that triggered the Gaza war.

The UN has said it had fired nine UNRWA staff who may have been involved and said it would investigate all accusations made.

Klaus said that UNRWA Lebanon had also placed four staff members on administrative leave as it investigated allegations they had breached the UN principle of neutrality.

One UNRWA teacher had already been suspended last year and a Hamas commander in Lebanon - killed in September in an Israeli strike - was found to have had an UNRWA job.

Klaus also said there was "no direct impact" on the agency's Lebanon operations from a new Israeli law banning UNRWA operations in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and that "UNRWA will continue fully operating in Lebanon."

The law, adopted in October, bans UNRWA's operation on Israeli land - including East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in a move not recognized internationally - and contact with Israeli authorities from Jan. 30.

UNRWA provides aid, health and education services to millions in the Palestinian territories and neighboring Arab countries of Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

Its commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini said on Tuesday that UNRWA has been the target of a "fierce disinformation campaign" to "portray the agency as a terrorist organization."