Conflict Incident Report

Palestinian popular committees in southern Tyre held sit-ins at the city’s northern entrance to protest what they said were plans to close UNRWA schools in the area.
Popular committee member Mohammed al-Bekaai told The Daily Star the protest had been planned after Palestinians caught wind of plans to close three schools in the Northern Nahr al-Bared Palestinian camp, in addition to one in the Maashuk refugee camp in Tyre and another at a Palestinian gathering in Adloun in Sidon.
“We will not allow the closure of these schools because ... there is no substitute for UNRWA students,” Bekaai said.
The popular committee issued a memorandum, calling on the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees to not buckle to fiscal pressures. UNRWA has struggled to gather funding for its work with Palestinian refugees across the region.
“We call on the agency to shoulder its responsibilities in finding practical solutions away from the policy of austerity, which has been ongoing for years, and to play its humanitarian role in securing the needs of our people until we return to our homes and property,” the document read.
Many students took part in the protest, holding notebooks and pens as an expression of their attachment to the schools.