STORY: UNRWA suspends services in Lebanon's Ain Al-Helweh against armed groups' occupation
DATELINE: Aug. 20, 2023
LENGTH: 00:04:11
LOCATION: Beirut
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. a sign for Ain Al-Helweh Camp
2. buildings bombed in Ain Al-Helweh
3. the sign of a school in the camp
4. a sign forbidding the use of weapons
5. various of the camp
6. a building bombed during the clashes
7. a man raising a flag
8. a building bombed during the clashes
9. a man using a binocular
10. a photo of the martyrs
11. a photo of Yasser Arafat
12. various of the camp
13. various of a building bombed during the clashes
14. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabs): FOUAD OSMAN, Palestinian official
15. various of a building bombed during the clashes
16. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabs): MUSTAFA AL ATHARI, Camp resident
17. various of the camp

STORYLINE:

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on Friday announced that it suspended all its services inside the Ain Al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon to protest against the continued presence of armed groups in its facilities, including schools.

"The agency does not tolerate any violation of the sanctity and neutrality of its facilities. It is unlikely that the schools in the camp will be ready to receive 3,200 children at the beginning of the next academic year, given the repeated violations, including those that occurred in the past, and the significant damage reported," UNRWA said in a statement released by the National News Agency.

Fouad Osman, a Palestinian official, told Xinhua he is certain that there will be disruptions in the coming academic year as schools need to be rehabilitated after the recent clashes.

SOUNDBITE 1: (Arabic)FOUAD OSMAN, Palestinian official
"Of course, these events, the halt of schools, and the destruction that happened in schools mean that the academic year in Ain Al-Helweh Camp will be zero this year. There will be disruptions, and schools will not start on time because life here has stopped, and the schools need to be rehabilitated. Therefore, the United Nations has adopted an alternative strategy of giving lessons to students within two phases, which will take us back to zero. I believe that the academic year 2023-2024 will be absent, and failure will surpass 80 percent due to these circumstances and for not giving students their rights. We are sorry to reach this extent of interrupting the educational life in Ain al-Helweh camp."

Meanwhile, Mustafa al Athari, a resident in the camp, expressed worries about the suspension.

SOUNDBITE 2: (Arabic)MUSTAFA AL ATHARI, Camp resident
"You cannot provide education or health services, meaning we will go to hell. However, we ask UNRWA to be patient because we are a miserable population. We hope they reconcile and go out of the school. That's what we care about."

The agency renewed its call to "the armed forces to immediately evacuate their facilities to ensure that urgent assistance is provided to Palestine refugees without any obstacles."

Clashes erupted in the Ain Al-Helweh refugee camp, Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp, between members of the Palestinian Fatah movement and Islamic activists on July 29. The clashes continued into August, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens of others, according to UNRWA.

On Thursday, Dorothee Klaus, director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon, strongly condemned armed groups' occupation of its facilities and urged all relevant parties to vacate UNRWA premises immediately so that the agency can resume critical services and help Palestinian refugees.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beirut.
(XHTV)