A few months after the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, the Israeli government accused 12 employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) of taking part in the attack.
Released hostages confirm some of the accusations. Israeli intelligence gleaned from documents and computers seized by the IDF during the last year proves far more involvement by Hamas, including the use of schools, hospitals, and clinics as storage for weapons caches.
Eight of the employees were terminated after an investigation, but the Israeli government does not consider that enough. The Knesset approved two measures that kick UNRWA out of the Palestinian territories.
One of the bills bars UNRWA from activity within Israel, and another bans Israeli authorities from any contact with UNRWA. It's expected that relief efforts, including food and medical assistance for the Palestinians, will be hampered by these laws. But when a supposedly neutral UN agency is taking an active role in military operations against Israel, Jerusalem has little choice.
“The law that we passed now is not just another bill. It is a call for justice and a wake up call,” said lawmaker Boaz Bismuth, who co-sponsored one of the bills. “UNRWA is not an aid agency for refugees. It is an aid agency for Hamas.”
The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarin, said the laws are part of an "ongoing effort to discredit UNRWA. To most people, UNRWA has discredited itself.
Hospitals, clinics, schools, and UN offices have all been used to harbor terrorists or store weapons. Why should one side play by the rules while the other side flaunts them with impunity?
The law kicking UNRWA out of the Palestinian territories passed 92-10, while the law forbidding Israeli government officials from dealing with UNRWA passed 87-9.
Prior to the vote, the US State Department had urged Israel not to pass the legislation, saying the agency plays “an irreplaceable role right now in Gaza.” Secretary of State Antony Blinken has previously warned Israel that passing the legislation could “have implications under US law and US policy.”
Despite those widely expressed concerns, during the passing of the laws, Knesset member Yuli Edelstein said the move would “not in any way harm humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip” and insisted Israel was acting within the framework of international law.
Israel has long sought to dismantle the UN body, arguing that some of its employees are affiliated with Hamas, and that its schools teach hate against Israel. UNRWA has repeatedly denied these accusations, saying there is “absolutely no ground for a blanket description of ‘the institution as a whole’ being ‘totally infiltrated.’”
UNRWA actually admitted that some of its employees helped Hamas hide Israeli hostages. UNRWA teachers teach Palestinian children to hate the Jews and tell them that a return to the "homeland" in Israel is a credible goal.
Meanwhile, UNRWA claims that they root out Hamas members as soon as they're discovered. Of this, I have no doubt. The problem is how hard they look at employees to see if they're tied to terrorists. Or do they only fire someone when Israel brings the employee's crimes to their attention?
Israel has alleged that some of UNRWA’s thousands of staff members participated in the Hamas attacks last year that sparked the war in Gaza. It also has said hundreds of UNRWA staff have militant ties and that it has found Hamas military assets in or under the agency’s facilities.
Residents and members of a civil defense team conduct search and rescue operations after the Israeli army targeted Asma School, run by the United Nations agency that aids Palestinians in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza Strip on Sunday. The wounded, including children, were brought to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The bodies of those who lost their lives were also brought to the hospital.
The agency fired nine employees after an investigation but denied it knowingly aids armed groups and said it acts quickly to purge any suspected militants from its ranks. Some of Israel’s allegations prompted major international donors to cut funding to the agency, although some of it has been restored.
It should be noted that there are thousands of dedicated, selfless, courageous UNRWA employees risking their lives to bring aid to Palestinians. But there are thousands more that look to aid the enemies of the Jewish state. Until Israel's enemies are purged from UNRWA, they have every right to ban the organization.
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