UN agency probes staff suspected of role in Oct 7 attacks on Israel
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UNRWA staff distributing flour at its headquarters in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip in November.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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GENEVA – The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Jan 26 it had opened an investigation into several employees suspected of involvement in the Oct 7 attacks in Israel by Hamas
“The Israeli authorities have provided UNRWA with information about the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the horrific attacks on Israel on Oct 7,” said the agency’s commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini.
“To protect the agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay.”
Mr Lazzarini did not disclose the number of employees allegedly involved in the attacks, nor the nature of their alleged involvement.
He said, however, that “any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror” would be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution.
Israel will seek to stop UNRWA from operating in Gaza after the war, Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Jan 27.
In a post on X, Mr Katz said Israel aims to ensure “that UNRWA will not be a part of the day after”, adding that he would try to gather support from the United States, European Union and other major donors to the agency.
Hamas slammed these “threats” against the UN agency.
“We ask the UN and the international organisations to not cave in to the threats and blackmail” from Israel, Hamas’ press office said in a post on Telegram.
Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy accused UNRWA of announcing the news while the world’s attention was focused on the World Court ordering Israel to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians
“Any other day, this would have been a major headline: Israel submits evidence of UN employees’ complicity with Hamas,” Mr Levy wrote on X.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been briefed about the allegations, his spokesman said.
“The Secretary-General is horrified by this news,” said spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
Mr Dujarric added that the UN chief had asked Mr Lazzarini to conduct a probe to ensure that any UNRWA employees shown to have participated in or abetted the Oct 7 attacks should have their employment terminated immediately and be referred for potential criminal prosecution.
“An urgent and comprehensive independent review of UNRWA will be conducted,” Mr Dujarric added.
US halts additional funding
UNRWA, whose biggest donors in 2022 included the US, Germany and the EU, has repeatedly said its capacity to render humanitarian assistance to people in Gaza is on the verge of collapse.
The US State Department said it was extremely troubled by the allegations, which it said pertained to 12 UNRWA employees.
It said it would provide no additional funding to the agency until the allegations were addressed.
“The Department of State has temporarily paused additional funding for UNRWA while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them,” spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the US decision was an important step towards holding UNRWA accountable.
“Major changes need to take place so that international efforts, funds, and humanitarian initiatives don’t fuel Hamas terrorism and the murder of Israelis,” he wrote on X.
The US State Department had recently praised UNRWA’s work, and the Biden administration restored funding that was halted during Donald Trump’s tenure.
In response to the allegations against UNRWA employees, US Senate Republicans were critical of President Joe Biden’s move to fund the agency.
“For years, I have warned the Biden administration about resuming funding to UNRWA, which has a history of employing people connected to terrorist movements like Hamas,” Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Jan 26.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc would “assess further steps and draw lessons based on the result of the full and comprehensive investigation”.
UNRWA, established in 1949 following the first Arab-Israeli war, provides services such as schooling, primary healthcare and humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
The Israeli authorities, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have accused the agency of fuelling anti-Israeli incitement, allegations it denies.
UNRWA has provided aid and used its facilities to shelter people fleeing bombardment and a ground offensive launched by Israel in Gaza following the Oct 7 attacks, in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 240 taken hostage.
Israel’s offensive has laid waste to much of the densely populated Gaza Strip and killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in the territory. REUTERS
