White will serve as director until a suitable replacement is found.
“I have the impression there is a huge sophistication in the way the Israeli military struck over the 11 days,” Schmale said in an interview with Channel 12 at the time. “Yes they didn’t hit, with some exceptions, civilian targets, but the viciousness, the ferocity of those strikes were heavily felt. More than 60 children were killed, 19 of who went to UNRWA schools. So I think the precision was there but there was unacceptable and unbearable loss of life on the civilian side.”
Schmale’s statements drew strong condemnations from many Palestinians, who accused him of “completely ignoring Israeli crimes.”
Palestinian factions said in June that the UNRWA director and his deputy would no longer be permitted to stay in the Gaza Strip “due to his hostile positions and bias in favor of the occupation.” They called on UNRWA to appoint a new director for its operations in the Gaza Strip.
Khaled Abu Toameh contributed to this report.