Israeli Mother Confronts UNRWA Chief: ‘UNRWA Kidnapped My Son!’

Ayelet Samerano, whose 21-year-old son was murdered by Hamas on October 7, and whose body was taken to Gaza, confronted United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) chief Philippe Lazzarini during a speech Thursday.

Samerano’s son, Yonatan, was killed and his “body was seized and taken to the Gaza Strip by an UNRWA employee after he was killed by Hamas terrorists on October 7,” according to the Times of Israel. Israel has said that several UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7 attacks; that many belong to terrorist organizations, and that many applauded the attacks. Several countries suspended their funding as a result, though some have resumed it.

Lazzarini delivered a pro-Palestinian speech in the Swiss town of Lausanne on the occasion of Switzerland’s “National Day.”

But he was heckled mercilessly by Samerano, who stood up wearing a T-shirt with her son’s image on it, and the words: “UNRWA kidnapped my son! Where is he, Mr. Lazzarini?”

UN Watch reported:

Lazzarini delivered the keynote address for the city of Lausanne’s National Day celebrations, and on the 300th day of the captivity of Yonatan’s body in Gaza.

The decision of Lausanne’s Socialist Party mayor Grégoire Junod to invite Lazzarini sparked outrage among many in Switzerland due to UNRWA’s ties to terror.

…

“An UNRWA worker kidnapped my son. A social worker for a so-called humanitarian organization kidnapped my son,” said Samerano.

Israel has called on Lazzarini to be fired and has said that UNRWA will have no role in postwar Gaza.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.