Ayelet Samerano, the mother of hostage Yonatan Samerano, whose body is held in Gaza, told Arutz Sheva - Israel National News about her confrontation with the CEO of UNRWA when she accused, "UNRWA abducted my son. Where is he?"
Ayelet insisted on emphasizing that she does not refer to her son as someone who was murdered and his body taken, even though that is his official status, because in her heart there is still hope that this is a false report and she will still see him alive.
Regarding the protest she led against the CEO of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, Samerano said: “He arrived in the town of Lausanne, Switzerland on Swiss Independence Day. Apparently, he thought he had arrived in a sterile environment because Switzerland likes to describe itself as neutral, peace-loving, and adhering to human rights. He was invited as an honored guest as an expression of humanitarianism. There were a few objections from the Jewish community in Switzerland, but he deemed it appropriate to let him speak as a representative of a humanitarian body."
Members of the Jewish community tried to bring about the cancellation of the speech due to the recent revelations about UNRWA employees' involvement in Hamas activities. "After they understood that the speech was not being canceled and they were being ignored, they contacted me and said they would not stand by. In retrospect, I learned they wanted to come and protest and were authorized to do so."
"I arrived with the help of UN Watch, which monitors the UN and especially UNRWA in recent years. When they discovered there would be a speech, they decided not to give up, to come and stand in front of him and highlight what they did while he talked about UNRWA as a humanitarian aid body."
Hillel Neuer, CEO of UN Watch, approached Samerano, told her about the upcoming speech, and clarified that he needed her and her presence there to express the protest. Samerano has previous experience with Neuer in protests he organized together with her, and she decided to join this event as well. After asking him several questions and receiving instructions, the organization began. T-shirts were prepared with her son's photos, as well as posters with his image. She herself thought it might be appropriate to come with a flag with his image, but there was doubt whether such an item would be accepted there, and it was decided to forgo it.
At the event itself, Ayelet stood in front of Lazzarini and called out to him, "UNRWA kidnapped my son. Where is he?"
"He continued as if nothing. I looked him in the eyes. I chose a spot in front of him and stood on the table. This disturbed him. At first, he made a hand gesture of 'what,' and it was clear from his eyes that it bothered him," she said. She noted that her son was kidnapped by a UNRWA social worker in a UNRWA vehicle, so her demand is primarily directed at the organization itself.
"There is no 'maybe' here," she insisted, stressing that the data is known and documented and cannot be denied. "I asked him where my son is and what he is doing to bring him back. To this day, no one bothered to speak with me, neither from the UN nor from UNRWA. From my point of view, I have no business with Hamas. I have business with UNRWA."
During those moments of protest, there was also a woman from the audience who reacted critically to the protest. "In the audience, there was an elderly woman standing beneath me, and when I started shouting and holding the poster with my son's picture, she took it, crumpled it, and threw it in the trash. Even if she knows nothing and even if I'm not in her favor, why take the picture of my kidnapped son and crumple it? I assume she is a mother."
Regarding the abduction itself, Ayelet said: “We know that after they shot at the vehicle, there was a squad that looted and stole the vehicle, removed Yonatan and his two friends, and threw them on the road. After some time, two people arrived in a white UNRWA jeep and kidnapped Yonatan and took him to the Strip. The entire process is on tape."
Ayelet noted that, "Yesterday the UN issued a statement acknowledging the UNRWA connection to the massacre, and this is a breakthrough. I expect them not only to acknowledge and fire workers, because firing doesn't help. I expect them to think of a new organization that will do the work of UNRWA and I expect them to handle the return of my son. They are responsible for this." She also mentioned other cases where other hostages were held in UNRWA facilities and in the homes of the organization's workers.
She estimated that her protest against the UNRWA CEO was more effective than before. “I have been to several such events, press conferences, etc., but it seems this time it had a greater effect because here is a person who comes to talk about his organization as humanitarian and ignores something that very much contradicts the organization's principles, and a mother stands in front of him and shouts at him how he speaks of humanity when he did the inhumane thing, and this created a huge media buzz."
Many media outlets from Israel and the world, including countries that strive to maintain neutrality and high humanitarian values like Switzerland and Denmark, were interested in the story, interviewed Samerano, and gave her protest more exposure.
