WarSclerotic

20 missiles found in UN-run school in Gaza, Times of Israel, Raphael Ahren, July 17, 2014

UNRWA apologizes to Israel, condemns a ‘flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises’ and promises investigation.

(What happened to the rockets after UNRWA removed them to protect the “safety and security of the school?” — DM)

Smoke from rockets fired from Gaza City is seen after being launched toward Israel, on July 15, 2014 ( photo credit: AFP/ Thomas Coex)

Some 20 rockets were found Wednesday in a school in Gaza operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the organization confirmed Thursday.

“UNRWA strongly condemns the group or groups responsible for placing the weapons in one of its installations. This is a flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law,” the statement read.

The discovery would seem to confirm Israel’s oft-repeated claim that Hamas and other Gazan terror groups use civilian infrastructure to hide weapons.

This incident was “the first of its kind in Gaza,” the organization said, adding that it “endangered civilians including staff and put at risk UNRWA’s vital mission to assist and protect Palestinian refugees in Gaza.”

UNRWA informed all officials immediately after discovering the rockets, and “successfully took all necessary measures for the removal of the objects in order to preserve the safety and security of the school.”

Officials from the agency, which has a reputation in Jerusalem of being exceedingly critical of Israeli policies vis-à-vis the Palestinians, have been summoned to the Foreign Ministry. They have apologized to Israel for the incident, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said.

UNRWA has launched a “comprehensive investigation” into the incidence, the statement said.

The agency, charged with taking care of the welfare of Palestinian refugees, has “strong, established procedures to maintain the neutrality of all its premises, including a strict no-weapons policy and routine inspections of its installations, to ensure they are only used for humanitarian purposes,” its statement read. “UNRWA will uphold and further reinforce its procedures.”

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