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01/20/2005:

"Bush forces UN refugee chief to go"

The Bush administration has blocked the reappointment of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency chief, Peter Hansen, after a campaign by conservative and Jewish groups in the US, and the government in Jerusalem which accused him of being an "Israel hater".

Some European and Arab governments were keen for Mr Hansen to stay on at the end of his nine-year tenure but the US supported Israel's assertion that the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is biased and soft on "terrorists". This week Mr Hansen sent an email to staff saying he will leave on March 31.

Yesterday, the UNRWA chief declined to discuss his failure to be reappointed but did say he believes politically motivated opposition played a role in his removal.

"I was willing to stay. There are certain facts about the views of certain groups in the US and Israel about how I have carried out my functions and those groups influenced the decision not to reappoint me," he said.

Mr Hansen infuriated the Israeli government with public criticisms of the military's wholesale destruction of Palestinian homes which he described as a grave breach of international humanitarian law.

He also spoke out against the killing of children by indiscriminate Israeli gunfire hitting UN-run schools, and Israeli policies that have contributed to economic collapse and growing hunger among about 1m refugees in Gaza.

The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Dan Gillerman, often attacked Mr Hansen, saying he was exceeding his remit and calling him an "Israel hater".
Full Article: guardian.co.uk