The United Nations (UN) has admitted that nine employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) may have participated in the Hamas terror attack of October 7.
Israel said earlier this year that at least 12 UNRWA employees had participated in the terror attack. There were also reports that UNRWA staff praised the attacks, and that many UNRWA employees were members of terror groups.
The U.S. suspended funding to UNRWA when Israel made the accusations; many other donor nations followed. An initial “independent” investigation found that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate Israel’s claims. (Israel rejected the results of that inquiry, as did the UN Watch organization, saying the probe ignored available evidence.)
An investigation by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services was still ongoing. But nearly every country that had suspended funding resumed it, except for the U.S. and New Zealand. (The United Kingdom reinstated its UNRWA funding last month after the Labor government took power.)
Now it seems those countries acted too soon, as the UN’s own internal report has admitted some likely culpability.
The Times of Israel reported Monday:
The UN says nine employees of its agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA ‘may have been involved’ in Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel.
The Office of Internal Oversight Services says it has completed its investigation into 19 UNRWA staff members alleged to have taken part in the attacks and concluded that in nine cases, “the evidence obtained by OIOS indicated that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the armed attacks of 7 October 2023.
“The employment of these individuals will be terminated in the interests of the Agency,” it says.
Last week, the mother of an Israeli who was killed by Hamas and whose body was taken to Gaza by a UNRWA employee heckled UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini as he gave a pro-Palestinian speech in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The Trump administration suspended funding for UNRWA; the Biden administration restored it upon taking office, before suspending it in light of Israel’s accusations. UNRWA has long been accused of indoctrinating Palestinians to hate Israel and to hate Jews, and to expect that “refugees” will return after Israel is destroyed.
Israel has said that the organization is failing to deliver aid in Gaza and that it will have no role in post-war Gaza due to its past record.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.