A shocking Israeli report found that a staggering 10% of personnel within the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees have ties to terrorist groups.
Last Friday, an Israeli report which was later confirmed by The Wall Street Journal found that up to a dozen UNRWA employees had ties to or were directly involved in the terrorist organization Hamas’ attack on Israeli civilians on October 7.
According to The Wall Street Journal, “Six United Nations Relief and Works Agency workers were part of the wave of Palestinian militants who killed 1,200 people in the deadliest assault on Jews since the Holocaust, according to the intelligence dossier. Two helped kidnap Israelis. Two others were tracked to sites where scores of Israeli civilians were shot and killed. Others coordinated logistics for the assault, including procuring weapons.”
In 2022, the United States was the main donor to the UNRWA, contributing $340 million. In response to these recent reports, the State Department has announced that it has “temporarily paused additional funding” while the UN further investigates the issue.
These shocking revelations prompted the UN agency for Palestinian refugees to announce that it has fired “several” employees that were allegedly involved in the terrorist attacks. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini responded to these allegations, stating publicly that, “any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.”
However, concerns linger that the identified employees represent just the tip of the iceberg. The Wall Street Journal’s recent exposé released on Monday has shed light on the depth of the problem, revealing that roughly 10% of UNRWA’s 12,000 employees in Gaza have documented ties to Hamas or other Palestinian terror groups. Furthermore, a startling 50% of UNRWA staff in Gaza have at least one close relative with connections to terrorism.
Among these employees is a UNRWA school counselor in Gaza who is suspected of kidnapping an Israeli woman with his son, a social worker who took a dead Israeli soldier to Gaza, and a UNRWA employee who, according to the New York Times, took part in the massacre at a kibbutz where 97 people were killed.
The UNRWA scandal not only jeopardizes the safety and security of those it is designed to assist but also poses a broader challenge to international humanitarian efforts. Time after time, the UN’s efforts to provide humanitarian relief to Palestinians results in the promotion and funding of terrorism.
