FAO official says he lost his job for criticising Israeli policies in Gaza

FAO director said he was informed his contract would not be renewed because of allegedly breaching impartiality rules.

Tents sheltering displaced Palestinians are seen amid war-damaged buildings in Gaza City, on September 23, 2026 [Jehad Alshrafi/AP]

A senior UN agency director has said that he lost his job because he criticised Israeli policies in Gaza.

Ben Davis, who had been Director of Rural Transformation and Gender Equality at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), told AFP news agency on Wednesday that he was informed in July that his contract would not be renewed because he had allegedly breached impartiality rules.

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He said that he was accused of organising weekly silent protests at the Rome-based organisation.

“They accused me of organising these moments of silence on the situation of starvation and famine in Gaza,” Davis said.

Davis was also criticised for a report he worked on about food availability in Gaza and humanitarian law, published in May.

“We were told to take it down,” he said. “We weren’t allowed to make any references to humanitarian law.”

‘Game of human rights’

FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu appeared to warn FAO staff on Tuesday that “we don’t allow you to play the game here of human rights”.

He was speaking in public comments made at the start of a filmed session on forestry.

“Of course, human rights is very important, but we have the human rights agency in Geneva,” he added. “If you want to take care, go there.

“That’s why some senior members play the political game here, I fire him … You should follow the FAO constitution … You are against staff regulations … But I’m a very soft person, I didn’t fire that many,” he said.

“I will fire more people if they are against the law,” he added.

Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Qu Dongyu delivers his speech during a World Food Forum meeting [File: Andrew Medichini/AP]

FAO did not respond to an AFP request for comment.

Asked if he thought the director-general’s comments were about him, Davis said “absolutely”.

“He has already scolded me in public in the past for being too political.”

Davis also said he was “concerned” about the director-general’s comments on firing more people.

Hundreds of people attended the moments of silence at their height, while now there are only 30 to 40 people coming on a weekly basis, he said.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed over 74,000 people since October 2023, and at least 1,431 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since the so-called ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was agreed upon in October 2025.

粮农组织主任表示，他被告知由于涉嫌违反公正性规则，他的合同将不会续签。

2026年9月23日，在加沙城，可以看到为流离失所的巴勒斯坦人提供庇护的帐篷，它们散落在战争破坏的建筑物之间。[Jehad Alshrafi/AP]

一位联合国高级机构负责人表示，他因为批评以色列在加沙的政策而丢了工作。

曾任联合国粮食及农业组织（粮农组织）农村转型和性别平等司司长的本·戴维斯周三告诉法新社，他于7月被告知，由于他涉嫌违反公正性规则，他的合同将不再续签。

以色列在加沙发动的三起袭击事件中，第一起造成至少八人死亡

图2/3：巴勒斯坦人在加沙举行大规模葬礼，悼念100多位亲人

以色列无人机在加沙杀害巴勒斯坦人，定居者在西岸杀害另一名巴勒斯坦人（共3条记录中的第3条）

他说，他被指控在位于罗马的该组织组织每周的静默抗议活动。

戴维斯说：“他们指责我组织了这些默哀活动，以声援加沙的饥荒和饥饿状况。”

戴维斯还因其参与撰写的关于加沙粮食供应和人道主义法的报告而受到批评，该报告于 5 月发表。

他说：“我们被告知要撤下海报。我们被禁止提及人道主义法。”

“人权游戏”

联合国粮农组织总干事屈冬玉周二似乎警告粮农组织工作人员，“我们不允许你们在这里玩弄人权游戏”。

他在一段关于林业的录像会议开始时发表了公开评论。

“当然，人权非常重要，但我们在日内瓦有人权机构，”他补充道。“如果你想维护人权，就去那里。”

“这就是为什么一些资深成员在这里玩弄政治游戏，我解雇了他……你应该遵守粮农组织章程……你违反了工作人员条例……但我心肠很软，我没解雇那么多人，”他说。

“如果有人违法，我会解雇更多的人，”他补充道。

联合国粮食及农业组织总干事屈冬玉在世界粮食论坛会议上发表讲话 [图片：Andrew Medichini/AP]

联合国粮农组织未回应法新社的置评请求。

当被问及他是否认为总干事的评论是在说他时，戴维斯说“绝对是”。

“他过去曾公开斥责我政治立场过于鲜明。”

戴维斯还表示，他对总干事关于解雇更多人的言论感到“担忧”。

他说，默哀活动鼎盛时期曾有数百人参加，而现在每周只有 30 到 40 人参加。

自 2023 年 10 月以来，以色列对加沙发动的种族灭绝战争已造成超过 74,000 人死亡；自 2025 年 10 月哈马斯与以色列达成所谓的停火协议以来，至少有 1,431 名巴勒斯坦人在以色列的袭击中丧生。