UN SAYS ISRAEL HAS NOT PROVIDED PROOF OF ALLEGATIONS THAT UNRWA STAFF IN GAZA BELONG TO TERROR GROUPS

UN Says Israel Has Not Provided Proof of Allegations That UNRWA Staff in Gaza Belong to Terror Groups

The independent review into the 'neutrality' of the agency is separate to investigations into Israeli claims that 12 staff members participated in the October 7 attacks

April 23rd, 08AM April 23rd, 08AM

An independent review by the UN, released on Monday, found that Israel has not provided evidence for its claims that many employees of UNRWA, the main agency for Palestinian refugees, belong to terror organizations in the Gaza Strip.

The review into UNRWA's "neutrality," led by former French foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, started in February, provides 50 recommendations to the agency.

The report is separate to another UN investigation into the veracity of Israel's claims that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7 attacks.

Following the allegations of staff involvement in terror activity, 16 countries suspended their funding to the agency, leaving a gap of $450 million. In response, the UN launched the review to provide donors with additional information on UNRWA's "neutrality mechanisms and procedures."

After the UN announced the review in January, The Wall Street Journal reported that around 10 percent of employees at UNRWA have ties to terror groups, according to Israeli intelligence reports reviewed by the Journal. The reports state that around 1,200 of UNRWA's roughly 12,000 employees in Gaza have links to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Israel's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday on X that the report "ignores the severity of the problem, and offers cosmetic solutions that do not deal with the enormous scope of Hamas' infiltration of UNRWA." The spokesperson claims that "More than 2,135 UNRWA workers are members of either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, while one-fifth of UNRWA school administrators are Hamas members."

"UNRWA can not be part of the solution in Gaza not now, and not in the future," the statement concluded.

The report noted that UNRWA shares staff lists with Israel each year, and that it is Israel's responsibility to alert UNRWA of "any information that may deem a staff member unworthy of diplomatic immunity." It added that "the Israeli Government has not informed UNRWA of any concerns relating to any staff based on these staff lists since 2011."

When Israel received updated staff lists from UNRWA in March 2024, according to the report, it claimed that a "significant" number of employees were members of terror organizations, but did not provide evidence.

The U.S. made clear on Monday that it believes "the role that UNRWA plays is indispensable," and it will "continue to support the work that they do."

State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said during a press briefing that the U.S. had "acted appropriately" in initially pausing and later barring funding for UNRWA when allegations of staff involvement in the October 7 attacks broke.

"We made that determination when UNRWA came to us and said they were aware of these allegations, they had investigated them, they had found them to be credible [with respect to the 12 employees who are alleged to have participated in the attacks]."

2024-04-23T05:18:03Z dg43tfdfdgfd