Claiming that the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories had capitulated to Palestinian activists along with local staff in deciding to expel Sarah Muscroft from her post, Erdan wrote in a letter to Guterres, “ this rule effectively grants [them] an “unwritten veto” on UN statements and clearly contradicts the basic principles of objectivity and neutrality that the UN claims to uphold.” A UN spokesman revealed to The Times of Israel on Saturday that Muscroft would be assigned to a new role five days after her tweet caused an uproar among pro-Palestinian activists. “I was relieved to see a ceasefire agreed to end hostilities affecting both Palestinian and Israeli civilians. Such indiscriminate Islamic Jihad rocket launches that provoke Israeli retaliation are condemned. The safety of all civilians is paramount – the ceasefire must be respected,” Muscroft wrote. He later deleted the post and apologized the next day, saying “one of my previous tweets was ill-informed and I have deleted it. I sincerely apologize for my poor judgment. All civilians – everywhere – should be able to live in peace.” Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms Explaining the decision to remove Muscroft, OCHA Deputy Spokesperson Jens Laerke said: “OCHA has been present in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for the past 20 years, working to help meet humanitarian needs, guided by the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and of humanism. Over two million people in the occupied Palestinian territories need help — they remain our only focus and priority.” Palestinian activists have forced Sarah Muscroft, the head of the UN OCHA office in Palestine, to apologize and delete her earlier tweet in which she blamed Palestinians for their own deaths and absolved the Israeli occupation of responsibility. pic.twitter.com/bgFc989tLS — Che Papua (@ChePapua) August 9, 2022 In his letter to Guterres, Erdan acknowledged that Israel often disagreed with Muscroft’s positions and publicly voiced his opposition. However, he did so in a “regulatory manner” befitting a democracy. As such, “Israel is upset to see that Palestinian outrage over tweets would so quickly end a senior UN official’s ability to keep her job and speak out. This represents a clear UN tradition of threats and intimidation and is a very problematic rule,” Erdan wrote. File: Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (Israel Mission to the UN) “At best, this is a recipe for misguided self-censorship by UN officials. At worst, it is a recipe for UN officials to exclusively emphasize the Palestinian narrative, even if that conflicts with the facts on the ground, honest reporting or Israel’s legitimate interests,” Erdan said. He noted that the “rule” also appeared last year when the director of the Gaza office of the UN agency for Palestine refugees was transferred and eventually replaced after an interview he gave to an Israeli news channel in which he agreed that Israeli airstrikes in Gaza during duration of the May 2021 Gaza conflict was “precise”. “Somehow, it’s always open season to criticize Israel, without repercussions. but if a UN official dares to speak out against Palestinian terrorism, there is an immediate backlash for fear of reprisals,” Erdan lamented. Rockets are fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, in Gaza City, August 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File) On the other hand, no such punitive measures were taken against a member of a UN commission of inquiry into Israel’s treatment of Palestinians after he claimed last month that the “Jewish lobby” controlled social media, Erdan wrote. “We ask that Mrs. Muscroft’s matter be considered with great concern. We call on OCHA and the UN to reverse this unfortunate decision which is taken as a reward for intimidation and threats. While Israel supports constructive engagement with UN officials and agencies, we cannot accept such blatant double standards,” the Israeli ambassador added. It’s not (only) for you. Supporting The Times of Israel is not a transaction for an online service, such as subscribing to Netflix. The ToI community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions around the world, for free. 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