A sign sits at the West Bank field office complex of UNRWA, in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, on Jan. 30.AMMAR AWAD/Reuters
Even for those who have long suspected a lack of neutrality – or worse – at The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the latest allegations were a shock.
Established by the United Nations after the 1948 war resulting from the establishment of the state of Israel, UNRWA’s role has been to care for some 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were driven from their homes in that upheaval. Operating since 1950, it is the largest provider of aid in Gaza.
Last Friday, allegations were made public that at least 12 UNRWA employees participated in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. The attacks killed about 1,200 people, and about 250, including children, were taken hostage, according to Israeli officials.
Some of the details of the allegations against UNRWA workers have now been made public – and to consider such crimes being carried out by employees of a United Nations agency is alarming.
The allegations are contained in an Israeli intelligence dossier obtained by some media outlets. The document lists 12 or 13 people – reports vary – nine of whom worked at schools as teachers and in other capacities. The others, according to The New York Times, include a social worker, a clerk and a storeroom manager.
According to the Times, a school counsellor employed by UNRWA is accused of working with his son to abduct a woman from Israel. A social worker is alleged to have distributed ammunition and co-ordinated vehicles on the day of the attack, and to have helped bring the body of a dead Israeli soldier to Gaza. Three others are accused of participating in the attacks.
The UN has fired nine of the accused. Two are dead.
Some reports and commentators have emphasized the small number of aid workers involved – that this is just 12 or 13 people out of 13,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza. A few bad apples.
That said, the document alleges at least 190 UNRWA workers doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad operatives. Further, Israel says that at least 10 per cent of UNRWA’s Gaza employees have links to Hamas, which governs Gaza. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by Canada, the U.S. and several other governments, as well as by the European Union. Membership in the organization is not permitted for UNRWA members.
Even if it was only a dozen people who participated in these attacks, this is egregious. A betrayal. Unforgivable. These allegations demand the utmost scrutiny of the organization, reconsideration of government funding for it, and perhaps its dismantling altogether.
But not now.
Gaza is a war zone teetering on the edge of catastrophe. More than 26,000 people have been killed there so far, according to Gazan officials. The medical system has collapsed. The UN has warned of famine.
UNRWA’s duties in Gaza include running schools, health care clinics and other social services and shelters. It distributes humanitarian aid, which nearly the entire Gazan population now relies on for food, water and other basic necessities.
Despicable as these allegations are, with so many funding nations initially pulling support for UNRWA in the wake of the allegations – including the U.S. and Canada – the agency has said it will not be able to operate beyond the end of February. Even with Canada announcing plans to allocate funding for Gaza elsewhere, other aid groups have said there is no other organization that can fill a gap left by UNRWA.
Israel has long expressed concern about UNRWA’s lack of neutrality and its possible role in indoctrination. On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said UNRWA was “perforated with Hamas” and that its schools have “been teaching the doctrines of extermination for Israel – the doctrines of terrorism, glorifying terrorism, lauding terrorism.”
And now this. These allegations are sickening.
Pulling funding is a punitive measure. It’s understandable. But it’s the wrong thing to do in the midst of war and a dire humanitarian crisis.
The employees of UNRWA and their actions demand intense scrutiny. When the dust settles and Israel’s offensive in Gaza ends, there will have to be serious discussions about overhauling and possibly replacing UNRWA altogether. But right now, it must be allowed to continue its crucial work. And to do that, it needs money.
Do not punish the starving children of Gaza for the appalling actions of these fraudulent aid workers.
Marsha Lederman