UNRWA is threatening to suspend operations by the end of February
To what extent were employees of the UN Palestinian Relief Agency involved in the terrorist attack on Israel?
The New York Times says it has accessed documents that show what allegations Israel is making against employees of the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA. Some are said to have belonged to Hamas. Watch this and other news on WELT TV.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini has threatened to stop aid in the Gaza Strip if the organization’s funding continues to be suspended. The background is the involvement of UNRWA employees in Hamas terror.
Dhe UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) may have to suspend work in the Gaza Strip and the entire Middle East by the end of February. “If funding remains suspended, we will most likely be forced to suspend our operations by the end of February, not only in Gaza but in the entire region,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Thursday.
Following Israeli reports that twelve UNRWA employees were involved in Hamas’ large-scale terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 16 countries, including Germany, suspended their payments to the aid agency. Nine of the accused have since been released. It has now become known that the extent of the connections between UNRWA and Hamas is said to be greater than previously known. The United Nations is investigating the allegations.
UNRWA said a total of $440 million in payments had been suspended. UNRWA is the largest aid organization in the Gaza Strip; 3,000 of its 13,000 employees are still on duty despite the war. According to UNRWA, almost two million people in the Gaza Strip rely on the shelter, food support and basic health care provided by the aid agency in order to survive.
UNRWA also supports Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria and their descendants. UNRWA operates more than 700 schools in the Middle East. It has long been known that many UNRWA schools use textbooks that contain anti-Semitic content or reinforce the Palestinian martyr cult.