UN refutes Israel’s claim on death of UNRWA official – UN news item

UN refutes Israel’s claim that Jenin project manager was killed amid firing in camp 

25 November – The United Nations has refuted Israeli claims that a slain aid worker managing a UN project in the West Bank was killed amid gunfire.

“Our preliminary findings into the circumstances surrounding the death of Iain Hook in Jenin do not concur with the statement made by the Israeli military that firing had been coming out of the UNRWA compound in Jenin,” the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said in a statement on Sunday.

“It is quite clear to UNRWA at this stage that such a report of live fire from the compound is totally incredible,” the Agency said.

Mr. Hook, a British national who had been managing the Jenin camp rehabilitation project, was trapped for several hours in the UNRWA office compound after the IDF’s entry into the area sparked a prolonged armed clash. The Agency said the Israeli Defence Force initially refused immediate access for an ambulance that had been summoned by UNRWA, and he died of a gunshot wound before reaching the hospital.