Israel's Made-up UNRWA Story

Israel gave no evidence to support its claims that UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) staffers aided Hamas’ October 07 attack on the Jewish state, an independent review commissioned by the UN have found. 

 

The Israeli government claimed in January that a dozen UNRWA employees took part in the attack, in which the freedom fighters killed around 1,100 people in Israel and took around 250 hostages to Gaza. They had also claimed that 190 UNRWA staffers provided intelligence and logistical support to the attackers, and allowed Hamas to use the agency’s facilities as safe houses. [You may refer to my post "Western Countries Stop Funding UNRWA", published January 29, 2024]. 

 

An independent committee led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna had found no evidence to support these claims, according to a report published on Monday.

 

In a separate report, three Nordic research groups assisting Colonna’s probe noted that “Israeli authorities have to date not provided any supporting evidence nor responded to letters from UNRWA in March, and again in April, requesting the names and supporting evidence that would enable UNRWA to open an investigation”. 

 

Colonna’s investigation showed that UNRWA regularly share lists of their employees with Israeli authorities, and that the latter have not raised any concerns about the agency’s staffing since 2011. 

 

UNRWA employ more than 30,000 people and provide food aid, healthcare, education, and social services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as those seeking asylum in neighboring countries. Over two million people “depend on it for their survival amidst one of the largest and most complex humanitarian crises in the world”, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said at a briefing in February. 

 

Despite being unsubstantiated, Israel’s accusations caused 18 donor nations to withdraw funding from UNRWA. While a majority have since resumed support for the agency, six have kept their money on hold. Among them are the US, UK, and Germany.