Karen AbuZayd | The American Task Force on Palestine

Israeli forces disrupt UNRWA chief's farewell
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 10, 2009 - 1:00am

Israeli police ordered outgoing UNRWA Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd to leave an East Jerusalem home on Thursday during her last official visit as the head of the relief agency. Ma’an’s reporter on the scene said AbuZayd left after police gave her five minutes to evacuate the premises of the house of the Al-Kurd family, as a Palestinian woman yelled "We want our homes and our lands. We have no alternative."

It's grim in Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Anne Penketh - (Blog) December 3, 2008 - 1:00am

I met Karen AbuZayd, the head of UNRWA, when she was sitting in the basement dining room of a trendy London hotel beside a mirror on which an artist has written in gold letters: "this is shit."It is understandable that Mrs AbuZayd, whose UN agency looks after the welfare of Palestinian refugees, did not wish to be photographed in front of the art work. But the message on the mirror aptly sums up the dramatic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, as she was the first to point out.

UN accuses Israel of punishing aid workers
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Anne Penketh - November 30, 2008 - 8:00pm

The UN official responsible for the welfare of 4.6 million Palestinian refugees has accused Israel of extending its punishment of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip to include international humanitarian staff. Karen AbuZayd, who is based in Gaza City, said that Israeli authorities have within the past month stopped UN staff based in Gaza from using the diplomatic pouch. They gave no reason for the move, which is a clear breach of international law.

UNRWA chief: Gaza on brink of humanitarian catastrophe
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
November 20, 2008 - 8:00pm

Gaza faces a humanitarian "catastrophe" if Israel continues to prevent aid reaching the territory by blocking crossing points, the head of the main UN aid agency for the Palestinians said on Friday. Karen AbuZayd, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said the human toll of this month's sealing of Gaza's goods crossings was the gravest since the early days of a Palestinian uprising eight years ago.

"What's Next for Palestinian Refugees: Gaza, the West Bank and Beyond?"
Briefing Summary at Middle East Institute - October 29, 2008 - 12:00am

Event Featuring: Karen AbuZayd Overview

Clarity From Experienced Public Servants
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Rami Khouri - (Opinion) October 24, 2007 - 2:44pm

It is very refreshing when law, international responsibility and human courage converge in the remarks or actions of a single person. This occurred earlier this month in New Zealand in a talk by Karen Abuzayd, commissioner general of UNRWA, the United Nations agency that provides humanitarian aid and basic social services to Palestinian refugees. She made a few points that are noteworthy precisely because international officials rarely speak with such clarity, moral force and political urgency. I quote her at length for the pertinence of her remarks: