Amy Mek
Washington D.C., January 26, 2024 – The United States government has expressed “serious” concerns over allegations implicating twelve employees of the controversial United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Hamas-led terrorist attack on Israel, which occurred on October 7. In response, the Department of State has “temporarily suspended’ additional funding to UNRWA pending a comprehensive review of these claims.
Allegations Against UNRWA Employees
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has engaged in direct discussions with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, emphasizing the urgency and importance of a prompt and thorough investigation into these allegations. The U.S. has welcomed both the decision to launch this investigation, and Secretary-General Guterres’s commitment to take decisive action should these allegations be substantiated.
This development follows the UN’s announcement of a “comprehensive and independent” review of UNRWA’s operations. The U.S. government has emphasized the necessity for full accountability in the event of any personnel’s involvement in the October 7 attacks.
In pursuit of further clarification, the US has contacted the Israeli government for additional information regarding these allegations. Concurrently, US officials have briefed Members of Congress and vow to maintain close communication with both the UN and the Israeli government as the situation evolves.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was originally a small agency mandated to provide basic humanitarian relief for Palestinians, including a vote for renewal every three years. Seventy-three years and four generations later, with more than 30,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $1 billion, it has become one of the largest UN agencies.
UNRWA’s Role and Operations in Gaza
In the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, UNRWA has, in fact, long been operating as the de facto government. By providing the residents of the Gaza Strip with various services, UNRWA exempted Hamas from its responsibilities as the governing body, such as creating a working economy that would pay for education and healthcare, and allowed it, instead, to invest resources in building tunnels and manufacturing weapons. If UNRWA were not there, Hamas would have been forced to fill the vacuum and, for example, build hospitals and schools and find solutions to economic hardship, including unemployment and poverty.
As senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk said, in explaining why no cement could be spared from terror tunnels to build bomb shelters for Gazan citizens:
“The tunnels were built to protect the fighters of Hamas from [Israeli] airstrikes. As you know, 75% of the residents of the Gaza Strip are refugees. It is the responsibility of the United Nations to protect the refugees.”
Hamas was effectively saying: We are responsible for what happens underground, while UNRWA is responsible for what happens above ground.
In addition to evolving into a monster-sized agency, UNRWA has also morphed into a very costly incubator for terror. UNRWA-run schools perpetuate and promote the “right of return,” a euphemism for flooding Israel with millions of Palestinians and turning it into a Muslim-majority Islamist state backed by Iran.
Educational Practices and Controversies in UNRWA Schools
Over 50% of UNRWA’s annual budget of $1.6 billion is dedicated to funding Palestinian schools. These schools have been fostering war-mongering hatred against Israel and against Jews in general, from the youngest, most impressionable ages and onward throughout the school years while predictably churning out their final product: terrorists and terrorist sympathizers.
“They [UNRWA] teach us that the Al-Aqsa Mosque belongs to us [Muslims], that Palestine belongs to us,” said Atif Sharha, a student at a UNRWA school in the Shuafat refugee camp north of Jerusalem.
“I hate the Jews,” said Yousef, another student at a UNRWA school in Kalandia refugee camp, south of Ramallah.
“Yes, they teach us that the Zionists are our enemy,” said Nur Taha, a third student from Kalandia. “We should carry out a [terror] operation against them [Zionists].”
Marcus Sheff, Chief Executive Officer at The Institute for Cultural Peace and Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) studying these hate policies, laments:
“The Palestinian matriculation exams have become a finishing school in extremism. It is as if the Palestinian Authority is cramming as much hate into the tests as possible to ensure the twelve previous years of indoctrination stay with them into adulthood.”
UNRWA then re-inserts many of these hate-infused people right back into its institutions, perpetuating what the UN is keen on blaming Israel for: “the cycle of violence.”
UNRWA schools have been the focus of media scrutiny on many occasions. UNRWA’s textbooks, compiled by the Palestinian Authority, have been blasted for showy, hate-provoking, and terror-inciting material such as “a grammar exercise that encourages Palestinians to ‘sacrifice their blood to liberate Jerusalem.'”
Palestinian textbooks produced by UNRWA contain “antisemitic, hateful, and violent passages,” according to IMPACT-se. Some of these passages in an Islamic education drill include labeling Jews as inherently treacherous. A poem included in the educational content glorifies the killing of Israelis and portrays dying as martyrs by killing Israelis as a “hobby.”
In a grammar exercise, Jews, it is implied, are impure and supposedly defile the Al-Aqsa Mosque. (They do not. The Jews peacefully tour the exterior grounds, called The Temple Mount, a plateau on which the Al Aqsa mosque now sits. The site is the third-holiest in Islam, but in Judaism, the holiest. The plateau is where two Jewish Temples once stood, mentioned in the Bible before they were destroyed — the first by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE, the second by the Roman Empire in 70 CE. Also, it is believed that the Temple Mount is where the Arc of the Covenant is buried.)
Despite years of considerable condemnation of the textbooks, newly produced editions approved by UNRWA are exponentially worse.
“Terrorist activities against Israeli civilians are also part of the struggle against the Zionist occupation of Palestine. Thus, the new books exalt Palestinian terrorists who participated in such actions. Dalal al-Mughrabi, for example, who was killed in a terrorist attack she had led against a civilian bus… in which more than 30 men, women, and children were murdered, is mentioned in four books, all studied in UNRWA schools at present. In all of them, she is described as a heroine and martyr of Palestine.”
According to the textbooks used in UNRWA schools, Jews have no rights whatsoever or any legitimate status in Israel. A Jewish presence in the country is denied historically, geographically, and religiously. No reference is made in the books to the history of the Jews throughout the region, either in Biblical or Roman times. Any connection is also denied of the Jews to their ancient capital, Jerusalem, which is presented as an Arab city since its establishment thousands of years ago. The Jews’ presence in Jerusalem today is bewilderingly presented in the books as an aggression against the city’s Arab character.
Beyond the textbooks, both UNRWA administrators and teachers have proudly displayed their approval of terrorism and hatred on countless occasions, including Hamas’s recent October 7 massacre, according to a report published by UN Watch, an independent non-governmental human rights organization, as well as IMPACT-se.
Incidents of Terrorism Support and Misconduct within UNRWA
UNRWA math teacher Adnan Shteiwi, for instance, glorified Diaa Hamarsheh, the perpetrator of the March 2022 Bnei Brak shooting attack — in which he murdered four Israeli civilians and one policeman — as a “martyr” whose name should “forever remain in letters of fire, might, and magnificence.”
UNRWA’s Asma Middle School for Girls B encouraged schoolgirls to “liberate the homeland by sacrificing ‘their Blood’ and pursuing jihad.”
Roni Krivoi, one of the Israeli hostages recently freed from Hamas captivity, reported that he had been kept prisoner in an attic for more than a month and a half, mostly starved and medically untreated. His jailer was an UNRWA teacher.
In Gaza — as with Ahmad Kahalot, Director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, who admitted that he was the equivalent of a brigadier general for Hamas and that 16 of the hospital’s staff were also “terror operatives for Hamas” — the mesh of Hamas and UNRWA is also illustrated in the high-profile case of Dr. Suhail al-Hindi.
Al-Hindi served as both the principal of an UNRWA elementary school and as the chairman of the UNRWA employee’s union in Gaza. In 2017, UNRWA suspended al-Hindi after it received information that he had just been elected to the Hamas political bureau. UNRWA announced that al-Hindi no longer worked for the agency but did not say whether he had resigned or been fired. Al-Hindi first said he “resigned” from UNRWA but later clarified that he was taking early retirement.
The case of al-Hindi and other UNRWA employees suspected of supporting terrorism makes the point that UNRWA is “the money,” while thug terror groups such as Hamas are “the muscle.”
UNRWA tries to keep up a public pretense that its hands are clean and has taken a belligerently defensive stance against these and other accusations, as it publicly claims that it has a “zero-tolerance policy for hatred.”
The Israeli news site Ynet, however, wrote recently about a UN Watch report:
“In it, some 47 documented cases of school staff promoting antisemitic material are recorded, as school staff openly violates the official UNRWA policy…
“It was only two years ago that UNRWA apologized for similar instances, claiming they were done erroneously and will not occur in the future, but with this latest report, that promise rings hollow.”
One UNRWA employee portrayed Adolf Hitler in a favorable light: “Wake up, Hitler, there are people left to burn.”
In addition, as is well-documented, UNRWA has allowed its school buildings to be used by Hamas as storehouses for rockets and other weapons, terror tunnels, and to shelter jihadi terrorists. Hamas and other terror organizations have bet on the media frenzy that would ensue if Israeli forces strike a UN institution (or hospital, mosque, or even a church) that is being used for military purposes. Hamas has been launching rockets at Israel from alongside UNRWA schools and, when possible, shooting from inside the schools, thereby taking advantage of the sanctuary that a UN institution, especially a “protected space” such as a school, ought to offer under legitimate circumstances.
Several weeks ago, the media exploded in condemnation of the Israel Defense Forces for blowing up a UNRWA school, despite the disclosure that the school had been used as a weapons depot and terror tunnels were found in its area.
UNRWA kindergartens have been discovered with weapons hidden inside toys or even in UNRWA bags, and UN officials are charged with being complicit in holding hostages despite protestations to the contrary. It seems that “zero tolerance” had devolved into “zero oversight.”
When rockets were discovered in UNRWA schools in the past, UNRWA would reassure everyone that they had been turned over to “local authorities.” Those authorities, of course, were Hamas, who most likely relocated them to another equally inappropriate location.
Occasionally, UNRWA officials will make a minor fuss or put on a shocked and affronted façade for donors or the media but reportedly do nothing to change the practice. In the upper echelons of UNRWA management, there have been accusations of serious breaches of ethics in the forms of nepotism, bullying, mismanagement of funds, and lack of accountability.
This is no small matter, considering that in 2022, annual worldwide contributions to UNRWA alone- not including direct donations to Palestinian governing agencies such as Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, nor to the many NGOs and other Palestinian-specific aid agencies- from 68 donor nations, including the Holy See, were $1.1 billion.
Extensive reports released by UN Watch and IMPACT-se have highlighted the malignant influence of terror organizations such as Hamas, Fatah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on UNRWA institutions that either feign ignorance or offer enthusiastic complicity. The repercussions of these revelations are becoming an embarrassment.
International Response and Funding Decisions
Switzerland’s Parliament recently voted to stop funding UNRWA ($21 million annually), labeled Hamas a terrorist organization and unanimously banned it. “Hamas’ brutal terrorist attacks against Israel necessitate a clear position from Switzerland,” they said.
In 2018, the Trump administration, calling UNRWA an “irredeemably flawed operation,” completely eliminated America’s $300 million annual donation. President Joe Biden suspiciously and irresponsibly reinstated the aid almost immediately after he took office.
For years, many have questioned the very inception of UNRWA, as the UN already has an agency specifically designated for refugees: the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
UNRWA remains a “refugee” organization distinctly apart from UNHCR based upon two premises: first, that the Palestinians will “return” to their homes in Israel by means of a the “right of return”; and second, that this eventual return is a “Palestinian” matter. In other words, not only is the agency for Palestinians, it is also Palestinian-controlled.
As a result, Palestinians who leave territories under Palestinian jurisdiction are not under UNHCR authority — an issue that goes a long way to perpetuate the refugee issue. So far, they number an estimated one million.
UNRWA does not run the same stringent check of eligibility as UNHCR. UNRWA is only concerned that “Palestine refugees” have “lost both their homes and means of livelihood” in 1948 or 1967 and that the “descendants of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children” are also eligible.
Future Outlook
Last week, in a rare shift in American policy, the U.S. voted against funding UNRWA.
The British Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Select Committee is similarly concerned about allegations of Palestinian textbooks funded by the UK that teach antisemitism and hate.
UNRWA was established in 1949 as a temporary agency to assist Palestinian refugees who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Unlike UNHCR, the United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly renewed UNRWA’s mandate, and it continues to operate more than seven decades later.
In the face of these mounting allegations, the United Nations and donor nations must thoroughly investigate UNRWA’s operations, personnel, and financial practices. Accountability and transparency must be paramount to ensure that humanitarian aid is not being exploited to support terrorism or incite hatred.
The allegations of UNRWA employees’ involvement in the Hamas-led attack on Israel are deeply troubling and require swift and decisive action. The U.S. government’s decision to temporarily suspend additional funding to UNRWA pending a comprehensive review is a step in the right direction, and it sends a clear message that such behavior will not be tolerated.
As the investigation unfolds, the United Nations and the international community must hold UNRWA accountable for wrongdoing and take concrete steps to prevent the misuse of humanitarian aid for terrorist purposes. The ultimate goal should be to ensure that aid reaches those in need and promotes peace and stability in the region rather than fueling violence and hatred.
Sources: U.S. Department of State, Gatestone, Gatestone
One UNRWA employee portrayed Adolf Hitler in a favorable light: “Wake up, Hitler, there are people left to burn.”
Haahahaha, these demonseed all think alike.
Bozobiden has to distance his regime before the upcoming election fraud.
UN is a terrorist organization, same as EU, WEF, NATO and WHO !
Bozobiden spent 20+ billion taxpayer’s dollars on rapefugee resettlement in two years. Asinine! Get these scumbags off the dole. Quit wasting my tax dollars on people that hate America that are only here to sponge off hard working Americans! Stupid a$$monkeys!
UN has been implicated in rape and pedo cases too. They are all reprobates and sh*tdicks. We should kick them out of America!
The WEF too. They are a bunch of pedosatanist 💩🤡.
Advocating for pedo and beastiality to be legalized.
DEFUND!
Jose Huizar, 55, served from 2005 through 2020 when he was arrested.(ex-city councilman from Putofornia).
Last year, Huizar pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act related to a $500,000 bribe from a real estate developer and one count of tax evasion.
*13 years sentence for corruption. He will do probably seven years of actual time at Camp Snoopy working on a prolapsed anus.
Yet, another example of the corrupt dirtbags in positions of political power, that abuse their job, and sell out their constituents. Wonder if he was an illegal alien with cartel narco-terrorist backing?
UN Corruption ~Oilnfor Food Scam
..Oil-for-Food is with us again, this time splashed all over the news as the subject of scandal at the UN: bribes, kickbacks, fraud, smuggling; stories of graft involving tens of billions of dollars and countless barrels of oil, and implicating big business and high officials in dozens of countries; allegations that the head of the program himself was on the take. In February, having at first denied any wrongdoing, Sevan stopped giving interviews and was then reported to be on vacation, heading into retirement. By March, the U.S. Congress was preparing to hold hearings into Oil-for-Food. Kofi Annan, having denied any knowledge of misdeeds by UN staff, finally bowed to demands for an independent inquiry into the UN program, saying, “I don’t think we need to have our reputation impugned.”
Remember Kofi Annan? (Islamo). Bribery and Corruption seems to be a problem. Always remember these dirtbags. The media wants you to forget them, but don’t do that.
UN Corruption ~Oil for Food Scam
…Oil-for-Food is with us again, this time splashed all over the news as the subject of scandal at the UN: bribes, kickbacks, fraud, smuggling; stories of graft involving tens of billions of dollars and countless barrels of oil, and implicating big business and high officials in dozens of countries; allegations that the head of the program himself was on the take. In February, having at first denied any wrongdoing, Sevan stopped giving interviews and was then reported to be on vacation, heading into retirement. By March, the U.S. Congress was preparing to hold hearings into Oil-for-Food. Kofi Annan, having denied any knowledge of misdeeds by UN staff, finally bowed to demands for an independent inquiry into the UN program, saying, “I don’t think we need to have our reputation impugned.”
Remember Kofi Annan? (Islamo). Bribery and Corruption seems to be a problem. Always remember these dirtbags. The media wants you to forget them, but don’t do that.
The U.N. knew that this was going on for yrs and also knew about all the tunnels in the Gaza, this is just a saving face exercise for the U.N. as they push for Islam to be dominant. The U.N is the most corrupt and nations need to wake up to this and STOP funding this corrupt group of unelected criminals.