U.S. admits it hasn’t verified Israel’s UNRWA claims, media ignores it
Secretary Blinken admits that the U.S. has been unable to investigate the “evidence” presented by Israel claiming 13 of UNRWA’s 13,000 Gaza employees participated in October 7. Biden took Israel’s word for it anyway.
Unable to investigate
The old cycle seems to be playing out again, but this time, the highly charged politics in Washington are more intricate.
On January 26, Israeli allegations against a dozen UNRWA employees surfaced. The agency immediately fired nine of them and said that two others were dead, hoping their swift and pre-emptive action would stave off rash U.S. actions. Nonetheless, the United States and a host of other countries immediately suspended funding for UNRWA, over the actions of 12 of over 30,000 employees, 13,000 of whom are in Gaza.
It’s worth pausing over that last fact for a moment. Twelve out of 13,000 Gaza employees have caused all of this, and it’s based on evidence that has not been made public. You’d never know that from much of the media coverage, which is, once again, treating Israeli allegations as proven facts. Nor could you tell by the U.S. response. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated, “We haven’t had the ability to investigate [the allegations] ourselves. But they are highly, highly credible.”
That is a stunning statement. They are simply taking Israel’s word for it, and on that basis, they are suspending aid to nearly two million people who need that aid more than anyone in the world.
Recall that Israel, in October 2021, labeled six Palestinian organizations as being connected to “terrorist groups,” specifically referring to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The “evidence” Israel presented was so threadbare that European countries dismissed it as baseless, and even the Biden administration, which has repeatedly supported Israeli claims based on no evidence that turned out to be false, could not accept the Israeli charges, though it avoided explicitly calling out Israel’s attempted deception.
Yet now, Israel has presented a “dossier” that contains its case against the twelve UNRWA workers. The actual evidence has not been made public, and even the United States, as noted above, has admitted it can’t verify the Israeli claims. But the U.S. suspended UNRWA’s funding anyway and led seventeen other countries to follow suit.
Not in Israel’s immediate interests
Israel saw matters going in a worrisome direction, however. The funding suspension will still allow UNRWA to operate through February, so there is time to reverse these decisions. And Israel is concerned that if that does not happen, the humanitarian situation will become so dire that Europe and maybe even the United States will not be able to resist the pressure from outraged populations and finally be forced to press for a permanent ceasefire.
Not only would UNRWA’s humanitarian efforts be shut down, but the UNRWA infrastructure that other groups use to distribute aid would also become unavailable. That will significantly accelerate the already crisis-level state of starvation, malnutrition, exposure, infections, curable diseases, lack of clean water, and all the other conditions that are killing Palestinians with accelerating speed, but much more quietly than Israeli bombs and bullets.
Fearing it could be pressed into ending its military operations, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel, “UNRWA is currently the international organization that plays the most dominant role in the entry and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and because there currently is no alternative, Israel is not pushing to shut down UNWRA.”
The Israeli official made clear what the Netanyahu government’s reasoning was. “If UNRWA ceases operating on the ground, this could cause a humanitarian catastrophe that would force Israel to halt its fighting against Hamas. This would not be in Israel’s interest and it would not be in the interest of Israel’s allies either.”
The United States quickly got the message. Even before the Israeli official spoke to The Times of Israel, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield shifted the American tone. “We need to look at the organization, how it operates in Gaza, how they manage their staff and to ensure that people who commit criminal acts, such as these 12 individuals, are held accountable immediately so that UNRWA can continue the essential work that it’s doing,” she said.
It’s not clear what “held accountable” means in this context since UNRWA has already fired the workers in question and even signaled it is open to criminal prosecution of anyone in “acts of terror.” Thomas-Greenfield also said that “fundamental changes” would be needed for funding to be restored. That’s a vague bit of wording that has been used many times in the past in reference to UNRWA. It’s unclear what it means here, exactly, but the general thrust of her speech was that funding should be restored.
“We shouldn’t let [the allegations] cloud the great work that UNRWA does,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “UNRWA has provided essential humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people and UNRWA is the only organization on the ground that has the capacity to continue to provide that assistance.”
So, it would seem that the United States is prepared to back off of UNRWA and restore the funding, right? And then the other countries, who followed the U.S. down this rabbit hole, would follow it back out.
Well, it might not be that simple. As with everything during an election year, politics make this more complicated.
On January 30, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing about UNRWA. The committee heard from one witness, Mara Rudman, who critiqued UNRWA but argued for President Biden’s “pause” on funding, rather than killing the agency. She said, “Is UNRWA, or any of the UN entities perfect? Far from it. The recent termination of 12 UNRWA employees who allegedly participated in the horrific Hamas attacks of October 7, provides one of the more extreme examples. It also shows the need for the ongoing oversight the Biden administration displayed in communicating to the UN that action and thorough investigation was required. For the services UNRWA provides to a desperate population, however, there is no substitute at this time.”
The termination of the twelve employees was a pre-emptive act of desperation and panic. UNRWA was not shown the evidence — merely accusations about the workers. But in this time of incomprehensible human suffering in Gaza, they wanted to do all they can to avoid the worst, so they fired the nine workers who remain alive. It shows how dedicated they are to their mission.
UNRWA submits lists of all its employees in the West Bank and Gaza to Israel. Somehow, Israel had no problem with these twelve, despite their supposedly extensive knowledge of the membership of Hamas and other Palestinian groups. None of this seems to bother Rudman much.
But she was the best of the witnesses, by far. The other three were Richard Goldberg of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a far-right pro-Israel think tank; Marcus Sheff, CEO of IMPACT-se, a right-wing Israeli institution that leads the propaganda campaign against allegedly inflammatory Palestinian textbooks; and Hillel Neuer of the far-right UN Watch, a group whose mission is to paint the UN as a cesspool of antisemitism.
Their testimony was as biased as one might expect.
Biden’s incompetence and mindless cruelty
For Biden, the hearings, as well as the general tone and tenor in Washington after years of bashing UNRWA, present a problem. If he doesn’t restore UNRWA’s funding, conditions in Gaza will grow much worse very quickly, and calls for a ceasefire will be overwhelming, as will Biden’s downward trend in polls. If he restores UNRWA’s funding, he will find himself under attack from Republicans as well as some Democrats.
In the wake of the hearing this week, one of Israel’s leading advocates in Congress, Brad Schneider (D-IL), bluntly stated, “We have to replace UNRWA with something else. I support getting rid of UNRWA.”
Not to be outdone in anti-Palestinian animus, the ever-eager AIPAC shill, Ritchie Torres (D-NY) tweeted, “UNRWA, long funded by your tax dollars, has been governing Gaza at the behest of Hamas so that Hamas, which sees governing as a distraction, could dedicate itself to murdering Jews in Israel.”
Had Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken not reacted in knee-jerk fashion to the unsubstantiated Israeli allegations, this would be less of a problem. They could have noted that UNRWA immediately fired the workers in question, that it had launched an investigation, and that its work was needed now more than ever. Biden could then have talked about reviewing UNRWA over the coming weeks and months, and made some political show of it without jeopardizing the aid to Gaza, which even the Israeli government doesn’t want to see cut.
But nothing is as familiar to Joe Biden as the own-goal. By suspending the aid to UNRWA, he now has to take positive action to restore it, which will leave him even more vulnerable to bipartisan attack.
Netanyahu, for his part, is not going public with his desire to see UNRWA’s funding continued for a while until a more convenient time for it to be decimated. On the contrary, he is maintains his public call for UNRWA to be terminated, despite the message he conveys more quietly. He is very likely content to undermine Biden as much as he can.
Even government officials from both the Biden administration and the Netanyahu government have been forced to acknowledge the crucial role UNRWA plays. That this has become a political hot potato is not just a testament to Biden’s incompetence, but also to his mindless cruelty and unquenchable hostility to the Palestinian people.
Secretary Blinken admits that the U.S. has been unable to investigate the “evidence” presented by Israel claiming 13 of UNRWA’s 13,000 Gaza employees participated in October 7. Biden took Israel’s word for it anyway.
FEBRUARY 3, 2024
MONDOWEISS
MONDOWEISS
WORKERS OF THE UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES (UNRWA) PREPARE MEDICAL AID FOR DISTRIBUTION TO SHELTERS, DEIR AL-BALAH, NOVEMBER 4, 2023. (PHOTO: SULIMAN EL-FARA/APA IMAGES)
In the latest demonstration of the boundless cruelty of U.S. President Joe Biden and his despicable administration, they have turned the backbone of what little aid Palestinians in Gaza receive into a political football, to be toyed with and batted around while jeopardizing that support for people who are already near the edge of what any human, however brave, can possibly endure.
It’s the latest in what feels like an eternal cycle of the United States and Israel beating up on the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for political gain. There have been many hearings on Capitol Hill over the years bashing UNRWA and calling for either a complete structural overhaul of the agency or its dismantlement and absorption into the larger United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
The root of the attacks, prior to October 7, 2023, has been UNRWA’s unique mission which is to provide humanitarian assistance — including food, housing, medical aid, and the role that has taken up the bulk of its budget for years, education — to Palestinian refugees exclusively. Because of this mandate, Israel and its supporters blame UNRWA for the definition of “refugee” in the Palestinian context, which includes not only those made refugees by the 1948 and 1967 wars, but also their descendants born into refugee status.
Many on the pro-Israel and Israeli right and center believe doing away with UNRWA would essentially allow Israel to do away with Palestinian refugees because they believe UNRWA is the only thing maintaining that generational definition.
They’re wrong, of course. International law is clear on this point, as the UN states: “Under international law and the principle of family unity, the children of refugees and their descendants are also considered refugees until a durable solution is found. Both UNRWA and UNHCR recognize descendants as refugees on this basis, a practice that has been widely accepted by the international community, including both donors and refugee-hosting countries. Palestine refugees are not distinct from other protracted refugee situations such as those from Afghanistan or Somalia, where there are multiple generations of refugees, considered by UNHCR as refugees and supported as such. Protracted refugee situations are the result of the failure to find political solutions to their underlying political crises.”
There’s no ambiguity there, but that hasn’t stopped the controversy. UNRWA has been routinely accused of keeping Palestinians as refugees, not giving them the tools to move on to an independent lifestyle as individuals. This is a key ideological component in the denial of Israel’s responsibility for the ongoing dispossession of Palestinians. It absolves Israel of all responsibility for the ongoing poverty and hopelessness that decades of dispossession, occupation, and siege have wrought on Gaza and the West Bank.
Yet, while American politicians don’t think twice about trying to score points by bashing UNRWA, Israelis have always known that they need the agency, despite all their hateful rhetoric about it. For years, Israel would bash UNRWA mercilessly in the media, but would always tell the United States that its operations were necessary, especially in Gaza. Without UNRWA, Israel would be expected to ensure that a humanitarian catastrophe did not ensue, so Israel needs the agency.
In 2018, emboldened by a reckless U.S. administration under Donald Trump, Netanyahu suddenly changed that position and called for the U.S. to dramatically cut its support of UNRWA. Trump eagerly did so. When Netanyahu made that sudden shift, it surprised and disturbed many in his own government who disagreed with the decision. Just about the only positive step Joe Biden took when entering office was to restore UNRWA’s funding. But Trump’s action made the question of UNRWA’s funding even more politically charged than it had always been.
In the latest demonstration of the boundless cruelty of U.S. President Joe Biden and his despicable administration, they have turned the backbone of what little aid Palestinians in Gaza receive into a political football, to be toyed with and batted around while jeopardizing that support for people who are already near the edge of what any human, however brave, can possibly endure.
It’s the latest in what feels like an eternal cycle of the United States and Israel beating up on the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for political gain. There have been many hearings on Capitol Hill over the years bashing UNRWA and calling for either a complete structural overhaul of the agency or its dismantlement and absorption into the larger United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
The root of the attacks, prior to October 7, 2023, has been UNRWA’s unique mission which is to provide humanitarian assistance — including food, housing, medical aid, and the role that has taken up the bulk of its budget for years, education — to Palestinian refugees exclusively. Because of this mandate, Israel and its supporters blame UNRWA for the definition of “refugee” in the Palestinian context, which includes not only those made refugees by the 1948 and 1967 wars, but also their descendants born into refugee status.
Many on the pro-Israel and Israeli right and center believe doing away with UNRWA would essentially allow Israel to do away with Palestinian refugees because they believe UNRWA is the only thing maintaining that generational definition.
They’re wrong, of course. International law is clear on this point, as the UN states: “Under international law and the principle of family unity, the children of refugees and their descendants are also considered refugees until a durable solution is found. Both UNRWA and UNHCR recognize descendants as refugees on this basis, a practice that has been widely accepted by the international community, including both donors and refugee-hosting countries. Palestine refugees are not distinct from other protracted refugee situations such as those from Afghanistan or Somalia, where there are multiple generations of refugees, considered by UNHCR as refugees and supported as such. Protracted refugee situations are the result of the failure to find political solutions to their underlying political crises.”
There’s no ambiguity there, but that hasn’t stopped the controversy. UNRWA has been routinely accused of keeping Palestinians as refugees, not giving them the tools to move on to an independent lifestyle as individuals. This is a key ideological component in the denial of Israel’s responsibility for the ongoing dispossession of Palestinians. It absolves Israel of all responsibility for the ongoing poverty and hopelessness that decades of dispossession, occupation, and siege have wrought on Gaza and the West Bank.
Yet, while American politicians don’t think twice about trying to score points by bashing UNRWA, Israelis have always known that they need the agency, despite all their hateful rhetoric about it. For years, Israel would bash UNRWA mercilessly in the media, but would always tell the United States that its operations were necessary, especially in Gaza. Without UNRWA, Israel would be expected to ensure that a humanitarian catastrophe did not ensue, so Israel needs the agency.
In 2018, emboldened by a reckless U.S. administration under Donald Trump, Netanyahu suddenly changed that position and called for the U.S. to dramatically cut its support of UNRWA. Trump eagerly did so. When Netanyahu made that sudden shift, it surprised and disturbed many in his own government who disagreed with the decision. Just about the only positive step Joe Biden took when entering office was to restore UNRWA’s funding. But Trump’s action made the question of UNRWA’s funding even more politically charged than it had always been.
Unable to investigate
The old cycle seems to be playing out again, but this time, the highly charged politics in Washington are more intricate.
On January 26, Israeli allegations against a dozen UNRWA employees surfaced. The agency immediately fired nine of them and said that two others were dead, hoping their swift and pre-emptive action would stave off rash U.S. actions. Nonetheless, the United States and a host of other countries immediately suspended funding for UNRWA, over the actions of 12 of over 30,000 employees, 13,000 of whom are in Gaza.
It’s worth pausing over that last fact for a moment. Twelve out of 13,000 Gaza employees have caused all of this, and it’s based on evidence that has not been made public. You’d never know that from much of the media coverage, which is, once again, treating Israeli allegations as proven facts. Nor could you tell by the U.S. response. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated, “We haven’t had the ability to investigate [the allegations] ourselves. But they are highly, highly credible.”
That is a stunning statement. They are simply taking Israel’s word for it, and on that basis, they are suspending aid to nearly two million people who need that aid more than anyone in the world.
Recall that Israel, in October 2021, labeled six Palestinian organizations as being connected to “terrorist groups,” specifically referring to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The “evidence” Israel presented was so threadbare that European countries dismissed it as baseless, and even the Biden administration, which has repeatedly supported Israeli claims based on no evidence that turned out to be false, could not accept the Israeli charges, though it avoided explicitly calling out Israel’s attempted deception.
Yet now, Israel has presented a “dossier” that contains its case against the twelve UNRWA workers. The actual evidence has not been made public, and even the United States, as noted above, has admitted it can’t verify the Israeli claims. But the U.S. suspended UNRWA’s funding anyway and led seventeen other countries to follow suit.
Not in Israel’s immediate interests
Israel saw matters going in a worrisome direction, however. The funding suspension will still allow UNRWA to operate through February, so there is time to reverse these decisions. And Israel is concerned that if that does not happen, the humanitarian situation will become so dire that Europe and maybe even the United States will not be able to resist the pressure from outraged populations and finally be forced to press for a permanent ceasefire.
Not only would UNRWA’s humanitarian efforts be shut down, but the UNRWA infrastructure that other groups use to distribute aid would also become unavailable. That will significantly accelerate the already crisis-level state of starvation, malnutrition, exposure, infections, curable diseases, lack of clean water, and all the other conditions that are killing Palestinians with accelerating speed, but much more quietly than Israeli bombs and bullets.
Fearing it could be pressed into ending its military operations, an Israeli official told The Times of Israel, “UNRWA is currently the international organization that plays the most dominant role in the entry and delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and because there currently is no alternative, Israel is not pushing to shut down UNWRA.”
The Israeli official made clear what the Netanyahu government’s reasoning was. “If UNRWA ceases operating on the ground, this could cause a humanitarian catastrophe that would force Israel to halt its fighting against Hamas. This would not be in Israel’s interest and it would not be in the interest of Israel’s allies either.”
The United States quickly got the message. Even before the Israeli official spoke to The Times of Israel, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield shifted the American tone. “We need to look at the organization, how it operates in Gaza, how they manage their staff and to ensure that people who commit criminal acts, such as these 12 individuals, are held accountable immediately so that UNRWA can continue the essential work that it’s doing,” she said.
It’s not clear what “held accountable” means in this context since UNRWA has already fired the workers in question and even signaled it is open to criminal prosecution of anyone in “acts of terror.” Thomas-Greenfield also said that “fundamental changes” would be needed for funding to be restored. That’s a vague bit of wording that has been used many times in the past in reference to UNRWA. It’s unclear what it means here, exactly, but the general thrust of her speech was that funding should be restored.
“We shouldn’t let [the allegations] cloud the great work that UNRWA does,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “UNRWA has provided essential humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people and UNRWA is the only organization on the ground that has the capacity to continue to provide that assistance.”
So, it would seem that the United States is prepared to back off of UNRWA and restore the funding, right? And then the other countries, who followed the U.S. down this rabbit hole, would follow it back out.
Well, it might not be that simple. As with everything during an election year, politics make this more complicated.
On January 30, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs held a hearing about UNRWA. The committee heard from one witness, Mara Rudman, who critiqued UNRWA but argued for President Biden’s “pause” on funding, rather than killing the agency. She said, “Is UNRWA, or any of the UN entities perfect? Far from it. The recent termination of 12 UNRWA employees who allegedly participated in the horrific Hamas attacks of October 7, provides one of the more extreme examples. It also shows the need for the ongoing oversight the Biden administration displayed in communicating to the UN that action and thorough investigation was required. For the services UNRWA provides to a desperate population, however, there is no substitute at this time.”
The termination of the twelve employees was a pre-emptive act of desperation and panic. UNRWA was not shown the evidence — merely accusations about the workers. But in this time of incomprehensible human suffering in Gaza, they wanted to do all they can to avoid the worst, so they fired the nine workers who remain alive. It shows how dedicated they are to their mission.
UNRWA submits lists of all its employees in the West Bank and Gaza to Israel. Somehow, Israel had no problem with these twelve, despite their supposedly extensive knowledge of the membership of Hamas and other Palestinian groups. None of this seems to bother Rudman much.
But she was the best of the witnesses, by far. The other three were Richard Goldberg of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a far-right pro-Israel think tank; Marcus Sheff, CEO of IMPACT-se, a right-wing Israeli institution that leads the propaganda campaign against allegedly inflammatory Palestinian textbooks; and Hillel Neuer of the far-right UN Watch, a group whose mission is to paint the UN as a cesspool of antisemitism.
Their testimony was as biased as one might expect.
Biden’s incompetence and mindless cruelty
For Biden, the hearings, as well as the general tone and tenor in Washington after years of bashing UNRWA, present a problem. If he doesn’t restore UNRWA’s funding, conditions in Gaza will grow much worse very quickly, and calls for a ceasefire will be overwhelming, as will Biden’s downward trend in polls. If he restores UNRWA’s funding, he will find himself under attack from Republicans as well as some Democrats.
In the wake of the hearing this week, one of Israel’s leading advocates in Congress, Brad Schneider (D-IL), bluntly stated, “We have to replace UNRWA with something else. I support getting rid of UNRWA.”
Not to be outdone in anti-Palestinian animus, the ever-eager AIPAC shill, Ritchie Torres (D-NY) tweeted, “UNRWA, long funded by your tax dollars, has been governing Gaza at the behest of Hamas so that Hamas, which sees governing as a distraction, could dedicate itself to murdering Jews in Israel.”
Had Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken not reacted in knee-jerk fashion to the unsubstantiated Israeli allegations, this would be less of a problem. They could have noted that UNRWA immediately fired the workers in question, that it had launched an investigation, and that its work was needed now more than ever. Biden could then have talked about reviewing UNRWA over the coming weeks and months, and made some political show of it without jeopardizing the aid to Gaza, which even the Israeli government doesn’t want to see cut.
But nothing is as familiar to Joe Biden as the own-goal. By suspending the aid to UNRWA, he now has to take positive action to restore it, which will leave him even more vulnerable to bipartisan attack.
Netanyahu, for his part, is not going public with his desire to see UNRWA’s funding continued for a while until a more convenient time for it to be decimated. On the contrary, he is maintains his public call for UNRWA to be terminated, despite the message he conveys more quietly. He is very likely content to undermine Biden as much as he can.
Even government officials from both the Biden administration and the Netanyahu government have been forced to acknowledge the crucial role UNRWA plays. That this has become a political hot potato is not just a testament to Biden’s incompetence, but also to his mindless cruelty and unquenchable hostility to the Palestinian people.
February 3, 2024
Displaced Palestinians queue to receive aid in front of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) center in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on January 28, 2024 [AFP via Getty Images]
by Dr Mohsen M. Saleh
MohsenMSaleh1
As of writing this article, 17 countries in addition to the European Union (EU) have suspended their funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). These countries cover 78.4% of UNRWA’s annual funding, according to the latest announced budget of UNRWA (actual 2022 spending), which is about $921 million out of a total of $1.175 billion. This suspension was made under the pretext of Israeli claims that 12 UNRWA employees in the Gaza Strip (GS) participated in the October 7th, 2023 attack (Operation al-Aqsa Flood) on the Gaza envelope. According to Israeli claims, ten of them belong to Hamas, and one to Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (PIJ). There are reports that two of them have died.
Condemnable haste
It’s significant that these 17 countries swiftly responded to Israeli claims without verifying them neutrally, particularly considering Israel’s adversarial stance towards UNRWA, aiming to undermine it. Furthermore, even if the claim was true, it’s unjustifiable to penalize an extensive international institution like UNRWA. Punitive measures, if necessary, should be directed at individuals responsible, not at an organization serving six million Palestinian refugees, including over 1.5 million in GS, with 13 thousand employees solely in GS. No country or institution can guarantee the absence of employees with conflicting beliefs or commitments. They would not accept international sanctions solely based on allegations made by opposing parties against employees in their ministries or institutions.Regarding the 17 countries that suspended their support for UNRWA, they are: US, UK, Canada, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Austria, Romania, Estonia, Iceland, Finland, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Read: UNRWA’s funding crisis and Gaza’s humanitarian future
UNRWA: Heavy responsibilities and ongoing targeting
Established by UN General Assembly Resolution 302 on 8/12/1949, UNRWA was created to provide care and employment opportunities for Palestinian refugees. Over 54 years later, it remains a crucial witness to the 1948 Nakbah and subsequent displacement of Palestinian people. Serving millions of Palestinian refugees, UNRWA provides vital educational, health, and relief aid, particularly as many still face urgent needs and continue to suffer displacement. Operating in regions such as GS, the West Bank (WB), Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.The UN General Assembly typically and strongly renews UNRWA’s mandate. The last renewal decision was in December 2022, where 157 countries voted in favour, with Israel as the sole objection and ten countries abstaining. The mandate extends until 30/6/2026.UNRWA typically faces financial strains and revenue deficits, navigating from one crisis to another to meet its basic obligations. Moreover, the Israeli occupation persists in its efforts to hinder UNRWA’s operations and dismantle it, aiming to silence the refugees who testify to its injustices. The administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump responded to Israeli pressure by halting its support for UNRWA in 2018, but President Biden’s administration reinstated support in 2021.
Palestinians stand at the entrance of the UNRWA-run University College for Educational Science Ramallah city in the occupied West Bank on January 29, 2024. [JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images]
Is it a deliberate scheme?!
Initial reports suggest that the current targeting of UNRWA corresponds with a plan drafted by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, leaked via Israeli Channel 12 on 28/12/2023, citing official sources. The plan, summarized by the Times of Israel newspaper the next day, aims to terminate UNRWA’s operations in GS, with intentions to extend this termination to other operational areas. The plan is structured into three stages: First stage: “Demonization” of UNRWA among donor entities by accusing it of alleged cooperation with Hamas (Accused of “terrorism”) in GS. Second stage: Reducing UNRWA operations, amid a search for a different organization to replace it. Third stage: “All of UNRWA’s duties would be transferred to the body governing Gaza following the war” (assuming it will replace Hamas and will be acceptable to Israel).
Questions:
It’s noteworthy that the Israeli campaign against UNRWA commenced only about four weeks after the plan was leaked. The rapid reaction of 17 countries to these accusations suggests their readiness to appease Israel without proper verification procedures. Why the haste? Moreover, questions arise regarding UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini’s decision to dismiss the 12 UNRWA employees before verifying the allegations against them, whereas procedural fairness dictates that investigations should precede any decision concerning them.
‘Attacks on UNRWA are about squeezing the Palestinians’: MEMO in Conversation with Chris Gunness
Secondly, a pressing question emerges for the UN and donor countries: why haven’t they taken action against the Israeli occupation, which bombed approximately 145 UNRWA facilities (nearly half of those in GS: Schools, centres, etc.), resulting in destruction or damage, and rendering 18 UNRWA health centres out of 22 inoperable. This extensive destruction of UNRWA’s infrastructure led to the squandering of hundreds of millions of dollars from donor countries. Thirdly, why have donor countries remained silent about the killing of 152 UNRWA employees during the Israeli war on GS thus far?!These are all crimes of much greater magnitude than the allegations being disseminated by the Israel.
So, how can these parties be surprised that some UNRWA employees embrace the spirit and ideology of resistance? After all, the overwhelming majority of Palestinians support the resistance, and the enduring plight of displacement, homelessness, oppression, and deprivation has persisted for 76 years. In a place like GS, where residents have endured a suffocating siege for 17 years and faced intermittent wars, is it surprising that some UNRWA employees identify with the resistance? They find themselves living in constant insecurity, exposed to bombings, with their homes potentially destroyed, their families killed, or displaced once again. And then they are expected to relinquish their identity, humanity and emotions!!
Finally, the swift actions of these countries serve the interests of the Israeli aggression on GS and align with the Israeli vision to tighten the screws on Palestinian refugees and erase them, and to close the largest international institution tasked with their welfare.Therefore, all countries, institutions, parties, forces and figures supporting the Palestinian people should hasten to fulfil their duties to stop the conspiracy against UNRWA and the Palestine issue.
Source: Alzaytouna
As of writing this article, 17 countries in addition to the European Union (EU) have suspended their funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). These countries cover 78.4% of UNRWA’s annual funding, according to the latest announced budget of UNRWA (actual 2022 spending), which is about $921 million out of a total of $1.175 billion. This suspension was made under the pretext of Israeli claims that 12 UNRWA employees in the Gaza Strip (GS) participated in the October 7th, 2023 attack (Operation al-Aqsa Flood) on the Gaza envelope. According to Israeli claims, ten of them belong to Hamas, and one to Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine (PIJ). There are reports that two of them have died.
Condemnable haste
It’s significant that these 17 countries swiftly responded to Israeli claims without verifying them neutrally, particularly considering Israel’s adversarial stance towards UNRWA, aiming to undermine it. Furthermore, even if the claim was true, it’s unjustifiable to penalize an extensive international institution like UNRWA. Punitive measures, if necessary, should be directed at individuals responsible, not at an organization serving six million Palestinian refugees, including over 1.5 million in GS, with 13 thousand employees solely in GS. No country or institution can guarantee the absence of employees with conflicting beliefs or commitments. They would not accept international sanctions solely based on allegations made by opposing parties against employees in their ministries or institutions.Regarding the 17 countries that suspended their support for UNRWA, they are: US, UK, Canada, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Austria, Romania, Estonia, Iceland, Finland, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Read: UNRWA’s funding crisis and Gaza’s humanitarian future
UNRWA: Heavy responsibilities and ongoing targeting
Established by UN General Assembly Resolution 302 on 8/12/1949, UNRWA was created to provide care and employment opportunities for Palestinian refugees. Over 54 years later, it remains a crucial witness to the 1948 Nakbah and subsequent displacement of Palestinian people. Serving millions of Palestinian refugees, UNRWA provides vital educational, health, and relief aid, particularly as many still face urgent needs and continue to suffer displacement. Operating in regions such as GS, the West Bank (WB), Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.The UN General Assembly typically and strongly renews UNRWA’s mandate. The last renewal decision was in December 2022, where 157 countries voted in favour, with Israel as the sole objection and ten countries abstaining. The mandate extends until 30/6/2026.UNRWA typically faces financial strains and revenue deficits, navigating from one crisis to another to meet its basic obligations. Moreover, the Israeli occupation persists in its efforts to hinder UNRWA’s operations and dismantle it, aiming to silence the refugees who testify to its injustices. The administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump responded to Israeli pressure by halting its support for UNRWA in 2018, but President Biden’s administration reinstated support in 2021.
Palestinians stand at the entrance of the UNRWA-run University College for Educational Science Ramallah city in the occupied West Bank on January 29, 2024. [JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images]
Is it a deliberate scheme?!
Initial reports suggest that the current targeting of UNRWA corresponds with a plan drafted by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, leaked via Israeli Channel 12 on 28/12/2023, citing official sources. The plan, summarized by the Times of Israel newspaper the next day, aims to terminate UNRWA’s operations in GS, with intentions to extend this termination to other operational areas. The plan is structured into three stages: First stage: “Demonization” of UNRWA among donor entities by accusing it of alleged cooperation with Hamas (Accused of “terrorism”) in GS. Second stage: Reducing UNRWA operations, amid a search for a different organization to replace it. Third stage: “All of UNRWA’s duties would be transferred to the body governing Gaza following the war” (assuming it will replace Hamas and will be acceptable to Israel).
Questions:
It’s noteworthy that the Israeli campaign against UNRWA commenced only about four weeks after the plan was leaked. The rapid reaction of 17 countries to these accusations suggests their readiness to appease Israel without proper verification procedures. Why the haste? Moreover, questions arise regarding UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini’s decision to dismiss the 12 UNRWA employees before verifying the allegations against them, whereas procedural fairness dictates that investigations should precede any decision concerning them.
‘Attacks on UNRWA are about squeezing the Palestinians’: MEMO in Conversation with Chris Gunness
Secondly, a pressing question emerges for the UN and donor countries: why haven’t they taken action against the Israeli occupation, which bombed approximately 145 UNRWA facilities (nearly half of those in GS: Schools, centres, etc.), resulting in destruction or damage, and rendering 18 UNRWA health centres out of 22 inoperable. This extensive destruction of UNRWA’s infrastructure led to the squandering of hundreds of millions of dollars from donor countries. Thirdly, why have donor countries remained silent about the killing of 152 UNRWA employees during the Israeli war on GS thus far?!These are all crimes of much greater magnitude than the allegations being disseminated by the Israel.
So, how can these parties be surprised that some UNRWA employees embrace the spirit and ideology of resistance? After all, the overwhelming majority of Palestinians support the resistance, and the enduring plight of displacement, homelessness, oppression, and deprivation has persisted for 76 years. In a place like GS, where residents have endured a suffocating siege for 17 years and faced intermittent wars, is it surprising that some UNRWA employees identify with the resistance? They find themselves living in constant insecurity, exposed to bombings, with their homes potentially destroyed, their families killed, or displaced once again. And then they are expected to relinquish their identity, humanity and emotions!!
Finally, the swift actions of these countries serve the interests of the Israeli aggression on GS and align with the Israeli vision to tighten the screws on Palestinian refugees and erase them, and to close the largest international institution tasked with their welfare.Therefore, all countries, institutions, parties, forces and figures supporting the Palestinian people should hasten to fulfil their duties to stop the conspiracy against UNRWA and the Palestine issue.
Source: Alzaytouna
Civilians are in Crisis in Gaza – Donors Must Restore Funds for UNRWA
February 3, 2024
Joint statement from humanitarian NGOs:
“The U.S. decision to temporarily pause funding for UNRWA will dramatically weaken the backbone of the humanitarian response for 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza. It is important to ensure a thorough investigation into the grave allegations by the Israeli government that 12 UNRWA employees directly participated in the heinous attacks on October 7, and to ensure full transparency and accountability going forward. But the investigation and any subsequent accountability measures must not derail the critical, lifesaving work of UNRWA in Gaza and throughout the region.
The plain reality is that UNRWA’s humanitarian role in this crisis is indispensable and cannot remotely be replaced by any other aid organization. UNRWA employs more than 13,000 staff in Gaza, of whom 152 have been killed since the fighting began. This funding pause also poses major problems for UNRWA’s mission and its more than 30,000 staff throughout the wider region. It is imperative that the United States and other donors resume support to UNRWA as rapidly as possible to avoid damaging the Gaza aid operation at a critical time.
The allegations made against the former UNRWA staff are deeply serious and merit credible investigation. UNRWA has taken appropriately swift action to fire the accused individuals and notify the U.S. government and other donors, and Secretary-General Guterres immediately launched an investigation. There should be prompt accountability for any individuals proven to be involved, and if the investigation finds larger systemic breakdowns, those too must be addressed.
But the civilians who depend on UNRWA for lifesaving aid at a time of enormous peril and suffering should not be punished as a result. Other aid agencies cannot replicate UNRWA’s central role in the humanitarian response in Gaza, and amidst the current crisis many will struggle to even maintain their current operations without UNRWA’s partnership and support. Over 1 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering in UNRWA facilities across Gaza. UNRWA’s 13,000 staff in Gaza far outstrip the collective capacity of the rest of the humanitarian sector in the territory. Their role in the facilitation and delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid at scale in this crisis has been heroic. UNRWA’s supply of vital shelter, food, and basic services like sanitation, as well as the use of infrastructure by other aid organizations, is irreplaceable. UNRWA staff have faced near impossible conditions for months: in addition to the UNRWA staff killed by military strikes, at least 360 people in UNRWA shelters have been killed by strikes; more than 1,300 have been injured; and 145 UNRWA installations have been damaged. UNRWA workers continue to serve their community amid this unprecedented violence.
The undersigned NGOs call on the United States and international donors to rapidly resume funding for UNRWA, while simultaneously supporting a rigorous and credible investigation of the allegations. Accountability is crucial but can and must be achieved without further devastating Gaza’s civilian population.
Signatories:
CARE
Interaction
International Rescue Committee
Mercy Corps
Norwegian Refugee Council
Oxfam
Refugees International
Save the Children
February 3, 2024
Joint statement from humanitarian NGOs:
“The U.S. decision to temporarily pause funding for UNRWA will dramatically weaken the backbone of the humanitarian response for 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza. It is important to ensure a thorough investigation into the grave allegations by the Israeli government that 12 UNRWA employees directly participated in the heinous attacks on October 7, and to ensure full transparency and accountability going forward. But the investigation and any subsequent accountability measures must not derail the critical, lifesaving work of UNRWA in Gaza and throughout the region.
The plain reality is that UNRWA’s humanitarian role in this crisis is indispensable and cannot remotely be replaced by any other aid organization. UNRWA employs more than 13,000 staff in Gaza, of whom 152 have been killed since the fighting began. This funding pause also poses major problems for UNRWA’s mission and its more than 30,000 staff throughout the wider region. It is imperative that the United States and other donors resume support to UNRWA as rapidly as possible to avoid damaging the Gaza aid operation at a critical time.
The allegations made against the former UNRWA staff are deeply serious and merit credible investigation. UNRWA has taken appropriately swift action to fire the accused individuals and notify the U.S. government and other donors, and Secretary-General Guterres immediately launched an investigation. There should be prompt accountability for any individuals proven to be involved, and if the investigation finds larger systemic breakdowns, those too must be addressed.
But the civilians who depend on UNRWA for lifesaving aid at a time of enormous peril and suffering should not be punished as a result. Other aid agencies cannot replicate UNRWA’s central role in the humanitarian response in Gaza, and amidst the current crisis many will struggle to even maintain their current operations without UNRWA’s partnership and support. Over 1 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering in UNRWA facilities across Gaza. UNRWA’s 13,000 staff in Gaza far outstrip the collective capacity of the rest of the humanitarian sector in the territory. Their role in the facilitation and delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid at scale in this crisis has been heroic. UNRWA’s supply of vital shelter, food, and basic services like sanitation, as well as the use of infrastructure by other aid organizations, is irreplaceable. UNRWA staff have faced near impossible conditions for months: in addition to the UNRWA staff killed by military strikes, at least 360 people in UNRWA shelters have been killed by strikes; more than 1,300 have been injured; and 145 UNRWA installations have been damaged. UNRWA workers continue to serve their community amid this unprecedented violence.
The undersigned NGOs call on the United States and international donors to rapidly resume funding for UNRWA, while simultaneously supporting a rigorous and credible investigation of the allegations. Accountability is crucial but can and must be achieved without further devastating Gaza’s civilian population.
Signatories:
CARE
Interaction
International Rescue Committee
Mercy Corps
Norwegian Refugee Council
Oxfam
Refugees International
Save the Children
House Foreign Affairs Committee holds hearing on UNRWA
According to the Wall Street Journal, at least 12 United Nations Relief and Works Agency employees participated in the Oct. 7 massacre.
According to the Wall Street Journal, at least 12 United Nations Relief and Works Agency employees participated in the Oct. 7 massacre.
By Alexandra Miller
SCRIPPS
SCRIPPS
Feb 1, 2024
The terror links run deep within the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, and the United Nations knew about it, according to U.N. Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer.
Neuer says his organization has been submitting reports ranging from 10-200 pages to the United Nations for years, and that the reports identified specific UNRWA employees who had made antisemitic and threatening comments.
He detailed one specific instance in his testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday afternoon.
“An UNRWA teacher said ’By Allah anyone who can kill and slaughter any Zionist and Israeli criminal and doesn’t do so doesn’t deserve to live. Kill them and pursue them everywhere. They are the greatest enemy. All Israel deserves is death.' This is an UNRWA teacher on Facebook. We sent it to the U.N. They did nothing," he said.
According to the Wall Street Journal, at least 12 UNRWA employees participated in the Oct. 7 massacre, including killing, kidnapping, coordinating logistics and procuring weapons. Seven of them were teachers. Nine have been fired, 2 are dead and one is still being identified.
Israeli intelligence, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said is very credible, says that 1,200 UNRWA employees have ties to Hamas and other terror groups, and half of them have families who are involved in these groups. Former UNRWA Deputy Chief Leni Stenseth is accused of visiting Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of Oct. 7, to reaffirm her solidarity with him.
Neuer told the Committee he has evidence of a Telegram chat of 3,000 UNRWA teachers praising Oct. 7 and other terror attacks.
The hearing also spent a lot of time focusing on what happens at UNRWA schools.
Marcus Sheff, CEO of IMPACT-se, said that the Palestinian Authority removed any discussion of peace from the curriculum, and “what remained was a curriculum centered on jihad.”
Sheff said UNRWA didn’t have to accept the PA’s curriculum, but chose to do so.
Various experts on the panel detailed curriculum and sentiment from instructors teaching students to hate Israel and Jews.
Committee member Rep. Darrell Issa told Scripps News he supports dismantling the organization.
“I’m willing to scrap it," he said. “I’m not willing to give U.N. leadership the ability to build a new one. No expectation that there would be different people or different teaching. When you have 3,000 teachers agreeing to teach hate, you have a problem that was too broad.”
UNRWA provides an immense amount of aid to the Palestinian people, aid needed right now as the war rages. For that reason, Professor Mara Rudman says while shutting down the organization may be the correct strategy, it can’t be done quickly.
“It’s not gonna happen by flipping a switch,” she told members of Congress.
Some members of Congress and other experts say there are other organizations on the ground in Gaza that could utilize those funds instead.
The terror links run deep within the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, and the United Nations knew about it, according to U.N. Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer.
Neuer says his organization has been submitting reports ranging from 10-200 pages to the United Nations for years, and that the reports identified specific UNRWA employees who had made antisemitic and threatening comments.
He detailed one specific instance in his testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday afternoon.
“An UNRWA teacher said ’By Allah anyone who can kill and slaughter any Zionist and Israeli criminal and doesn’t do so doesn’t deserve to live. Kill them and pursue them everywhere. They are the greatest enemy. All Israel deserves is death.' This is an UNRWA teacher on Facebook. We sent it to the U.N. They did nothing," he said.
According to the Wall Street Journal, at least 12 UNRWA employees participated in the Oct. 7 massacre, including killing, kidnapping, coordinating logistics and procuring weapons. Seven of them were teachers. Nine have been fired, 2 are dead and one is still being identified.
Israeli intelligence, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said is very credible, says that 1,200 UNRWA employees have ties to Hamas and other terror groups, and half of them have families who are involved in these groups. Former UNRWA Deputy Chief Leni Stenseth is accused of visiting Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of Oct. 7, to reaffirm her solidarity with him.
Neuer told the Committee he has evidence of a Telegram chat of 3,000 UNRWA teachers praising Oct. 7 and other terror attacks.
The hearing also spent a lot of time focusing on what happens at UNRWA schools.
Marcus Sheff, CEO of IMPACT-se, said that the Palestinian Authority removed any discussion of peace from the curriculum, and “what remained was a curriculum centered on jihad.”
Sheff said UNRWA didn’t have to accept the PA’s curriculum, but chose to do so.
Various experts on the panel detailed curriculum and sentiment from instructors teaching students to hate Israel and Jews.
Committee member Rep. Darrell Issa told Scripps News he supports dismantling the organization.
“I’m willing to scrap it," he said. “I’m not willing to give U.N. leadership the ability to build a new one. No expectation that there would be different people or different teaching. When you have 3,000 teachers agreeing to teach hate, you have a problem that was too broad.”
UNRWA provides an immense amount of aid to the Palestinian people, aid needed right now as the war rages. For that reason, Professor Mara Rudman says while shutting down the organization may be the correct strategy, it can’t be done quickly.
“It’s not gonna happen by flipping a switch,” she told members of Congress.
Some members of Congress and other experts say there are other organizations on the ground in Gaza that could utilize those funds instead.
