The United Nations said Thursday it had no plans to evacuate staff despite the tide of deadly violence rocking the Palestinian territories but has upgraded security precautions for the West Bank and Jerusalem.
"There are absolutely no plans to evacuate anyone," said Mian Qadruddin, chef de cabinet at the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) for Palestinian refugees, which has responsibility for setting security guidelines for all UN agencies in the region.
He said staff in Gaza, which has been the scene of some of the bloodiest gun-battles in recent days, were operating under normal security restrictions that were higher than in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
"Gaza has always been a non-family station and it continues to be that, but the usual precautionary notices are issued to all UN personnel and they are asked not to undertake non-essential travel," Qadruddin told AFP.
"Today we have raised the status of precautionary measures in the West Bank and in Jerusalem," he added. "That means no unnecessary travel and being cautious in areas where there is likely to be violence." - JERUSALEM (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
