JERUSALEM – The scandal-plagued United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has said in a report that some of its staff, under pressure from Israel, lied about their links to the October 7 Jerusalem massacre. He claimed that he was asked to admit it. Hamas.
According to a report reviewed by Reuters on Friday, “Government agency personnel have been subjected to intimidation and coercion by Israeli authorities while in detention, and have been exposed to Israeli complaints, including that the agency is affiliated with Hamas and that UNRWA personnel participated in the October 7, 2023 atrocities. They are under pressure to make false statements to authorities.” ”
When asked if UNRWA could provide FOX News Digital with a copy of the UNRWA report and the names of alleged UNRWA officials, UNRWA spokesperson Juliet Touma said: “We cannot. The report is not available to the media. It was leaked,” he said. . ”
The UNRWA report claimed that Palestinian detainees described “allegations of abuse, including beatings, humiliation, intimidation, attacks on dogs, sexual violence, and deaths of detainees who were denied medical treatment.”
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UNRWA headquarters in Gaza. Hamas terrorists at a kibbutz on October 7th and Israeli civilians kidnapped by terrorists. (Israel Defense Forces via Getty, AP | Ahmed Zakot/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images | Hamas Telegram)
When asked whether UNRWA considers Hamas, a terrorist organization designated by the US and EU, as a terrorist organization. Touma said, “We are not registered as a terrorist organization by the United Nations.” On October 7, Hamas killed 1,200 people, including more than 30 Americans, and kidnapped more than 240 people in southern Israel.
Thoma added: “What I do know is that I have written several times to the Israeli military and the Israeli government regarding the results of the report.”
Israeli Defense Minister Job Gallant said last month that dozens of UNRWA personnel took part in the October 7 massacre. In November, Fox News Digital reported that UNRWA officials celebrated a Hamas terrorist attack.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the IDF and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) for comment on UNRWA’s report. An IDF spokesperson referred FOX News Digital to the MFA. An MFA spokesperson told FOX News Digital that the ministry is reviewing whether Israeli government departments received the UNRWA report.
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Activists hold placards during a protest in the Gaza Strip calling for countries to resume funding for UNRWA and support the Palestinians, near the EU headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, on February 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussain)
When asked about this report, and given that other countries are reimbursing UNRWA, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “While the United States considers these allegations and the United Nations action,… “We have taken the independent decision to temporarily suspend further funding to UNRWA.” “We continue to emphasize UNRWA’s critical role in providing humanitarian assistance in Gaza and across the region, and we do not want these allegations to undermine our efforts to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance. I don’t want that.”
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The State Department spokesperson added: “We have seen the announcements from the European Union and Canada. UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza and plays a critical role in regional stability. It is important that it does not collapse.” Ta.
Sweden and Canada last week announced plans to inject tens of millions of dollars. To the UNRWA safe. A State Department spokesperson declined to discuss the UNRWA report specifically.
UNRWA Secretary-General Philippe Lazzarini will hold a press conference in Jerusalem on October 27, 2023. (Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu, via Getty Images)
Peter Gallo, an international lawyer and former United Nations Office of Internal Oversight (OIOS) investigator, provided Fox News Digital with a detailed analysis of the UNRWA report based on the Reuters article and Thoma’s comments, which he found hilarious. He said it was a thing.
“Even more laughable is the statement by UNRWA spokesperson Juliette Touma, who told Reuters that anyone with information regarding the allegations against UNRWA staff is encouraged to share it with the investigation,” Gallo said. This has got to be a contender for the best joke.” 1 week. ”
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Israeli soldiers patrol near Kibbutz Beli in southern Israel on October 12, 2023. It is near where 270 revelers were killed by terrorists during the Supernova music festival on October 7th. (Alice Messinis/AFP via Getty Images)
“These people live in Gaza, where every aspect of their lives has been controlled since 2006 by Hamas, a terrorist organization with no political opposition, because if you oppose them, “The penalty for this is the death penalty, which Juliet Touma believes should be provided by ordinary Gazans.” Provided information about individuals involved in the murder, rape, and mutilation of more than 1,400 unarmed civilians in service to Hamas to an organization that has been unable to protect them and has long been manipulated by Hamas. ”
Jonathan Conricks, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a former IDF spokesperson, said, “UNRWA personnel are members of Hamas and other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip and are active in the October atrocities.” It has been revealed that he was a “participant in this matter.”” 7. “
“As long as UNRWA remains in the Gaza Strip, there will be no peace, no Palestinian self-definition, and no stability, only poverty, despair, and a tremendous waste of human potential.”
This image was made from undated body camera video footage taken by a downed Hamas terrorist and released by the Israel Defense Forces, showing a Hamas terrorist roaming through a residential area in southern Israel on October 7, 2023. It shows. (Israel Defense Forces, via AP)
A former Israeli military spokesperson said: “UNRWA should be dismantled and the international community should focus on the future prosperity of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, instead of indoctrinating children into terrorism and forcing Palestinians to live permanently.” We should invest in building local organizations that are focused on the future.” Victim mentality and misery. ”
He added: “UNRWA has failed Palestinians in Gaza, failed in its humanitarian mission, failed in its mission, and been exposed as nothing more than a facade for Hamas’s continued rule in the Gaza Strip.” Ta.
According to Conrics, “UNWRA is responsible for the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza because it deliberately decided not to evacuate civilians and not to establish a humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, at Israel’s request.” UNRWA has implemented a policy of “prioritizing Hamas’s continued tyranny over the needs of civilians.” ”
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Remains of a house destroyed in a Hamas terrorist attack in Kibbutz Nir Oz, Israel, on October 7, 2023. (Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
David Bedine, director of the Center for Near East Policy Research and an expert on UNRWA’s curriculum, called the UNRWA report “ridiculous” in an interview with FOX News Digital. Citing a 2009 report posted on his organization’s website, he said: 1990 Hamas takes control of UNRWA Trade unions in the Gaza Strip. In the June 2003 elections, the Hamas-affiliated Islamic bloc won 23 of his 27 seats, marking Hamas’s fourth consecutive victory in UNRWA elections. This gave Hamas complete control over education, as the Islamic bloc won all 11 seats for teachers. ”
Bedaine claimed that Hamas’ control of UNRWA’s trade unions in the Gaza Strip continued after 2009.
Reuters contributed to this article.
