"The UN refuge agency UNRWA’s decision to fire its emergency programme employees is unacceptable and shocking as it is not result from a financial deficit," the chief of Hamas’ Department of Refugee Affairs Esam Odwan said. 

Odwan added that the UNRWA’s dismissal of its employees would not resolve its financial crisis due to the early retirement pension funds that need to be provided to the employees, questioning whether "the UNRWA is actually willing to give its employees their pensions in such circumstances".

“The UNRWA wants to sack its employees by any means because its Director of Operations Matthias Schmale wants to prove to the administration that he’s capable of denying his employees their rights,” Odwan confirmed urging all the Palestinian people to take comprehensive steps to repel this decision. 

"Schmale knows that the Gaza Strip is going though a humanitarian crisis and suffers from high unemployment rates and his decision will reflect negatively on the current situation".  

The Hamas’ official held the UNRWA’s administration full responsibility for the repercussions that may amount from dismissing those employees.  

Odwan confirmed that the UNRWA’s decision to sack its employees is a preliminary step to dismiss a thousand employees of the emergency programmes by the end of 2018 adding that next year will witness a new wave of dismissals under the pretext of a budget deficit.