UN Palestinian Refugee Agency suspends teacher in Lebanon

Dozens of people protested outside the Beirut office of the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency on Wednesday after it put a staff member on administrative leave over possible violations of staff conduct regulations.

School teacher Fathi al-Sharif was put on leave for three months without pay as the UN agency investigated alleged activities "that are in violation of the Agency's regulatory framework governing staff conduct," the agency told Reuters in a statement.

UNRWA said it could not discuss further details. It did not say whether he was accused of membership of an armed group.

Sharif spoke at the protest on Wednesday, where a crowd had gathered to support him. Several people told Reuters that he had been accused of links to Palestinian faction Hamas, which carried out a deadly attack in Israel in October.

"The job can go, and we will stay!" he told those gathered.

Reuters