The United Nations Relief and Works Agency For Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced Tuesday that rockets had been found on their premises for the second time in less than a week.
UNRWA released a letter condemning the ‘finding’ , and again refusing to place blame on any group or organization for stashing rockets on their grounds. The letter wrote:
Today, in the course of the regular inspection of its premises, UNRWA discovered rockets hidden in a vacant school in the Gaza Strip. As soon as the rockets were discovered, UNRWA staff were withdrawn from the premises, and so we are unable to confirm the precise number of rockets. The school is situated between two other UNRWA schools that currently each accommodate 1,500 internally displaced persons.
UNRWA strongly and unequivocally condemns the group or groups responsible for this flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law.
The Agency immediately informed the relevant parties and is pursuing all possible measures for the removal of the objects in order to preserve the safety and security of the school. UNRWA will launch a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding this incident.
UNRWA has reinforced and continues to implement its robust procedures to maintain the neutrality of all its premises, including a strict no-weapons policy and regular inspections of its installations, to ensure they are only used for humanitarian purposes.
Palestinian civilians in Gaza rely on UNRWA to provide humanitarian assistance and shelter. At all times, and especially during escalations of violence, the sanctity and integrity of UN installations must be respected.
Israeli officials strongly condemned the UN agency’s behavior. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “How many more schools will have to be abused by Hamas missile squads before the international community will intervene. How many times can it turn its head the other way and pretend that it just doesn’t see?”
Just last Wednesday, UNRWA announced it had found 20 rockets stored in a children’s school on its campus. UNRWA said at the time it gave the rockets to “local authorities” for proper disposal. Many pointed out at the time, including Breitbart’s Thomas Rose, that in all likelihood the weapons had made their way back in the hands of the Hamas terrorist organization.
UNRWA Summer Camp
As the UN’s largest subdivision, employing a staff of over 30,000 people, UNRWA has a documented history of aiding and abetting Palestinian terrorism. From UNRWA’s creation to present time, the number of Palestinian refugees recognized by UNRWA has grown from 750,000 to 5 million people.
UNRWA School
Videos such as Camp Jihad have shown how UNRWA summer camps indoctrinate and radicalize Palestinian youth with anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiments, and had been encouraging them to embrace the concept of jihad. The United States was UNRWA’s largest financial supporter in 2013.
On Monday, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the United States had granted Gaza $47 million dollars in “humanitarian” aid, $15 million of which would be disbursed through UNRWA.
When rockets were found at the UNRWA school for the first time, US State Department spokesperson Marie Harf was quick to defend continuing US aid to the corrupted humanitarian operation. Harf said, “It is a relief organization, it is not a peacekeeping organization that can deal with rockets.” She said that the US was “working with them to come up with better solutions, looking at what acceptable outcomes might look like in the future.”