The Israeli government made an announcement Thursday declaring it would occupy the Jerusalem headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for the Palestinians (UNRWA) and turn it into a housing complex.
UNRWA is the official United Nations agency supporting the Palestinian people. It is primarily responsible for education and health care in the Gaza Strip, and its operations allow Hamas, the ruling organization in the Gaza Strip, to invest almost entirely in genocidal jihadist terrorism rather than carrying out government mandates. is possible.
Over the past year, the United Nations has faced a wave of criticism and defunding over UNRWA's role in enabling Hamas. Years of evidence has shown that Hamas is exploiting UNRWA facilities to hide its terrorist organization, and that UNRWA schools are indoctrinating children to hate Jews and support Islamic extremism. The accusations are a result of evidence showing that UNRWA personnel participated in the October 7 massacre of Israelis. , 2023.
On that day, Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, carrying out door-to-door executions of entire families, gang rapes (including in one case a woman was raped and executed), mass kidnappings, desecration of corpses, infanticide, and other atrocities. Hamas terrorists are believed to have killed an estimated 1,200 people and abducted around 250, 97 of whom remain in captivity.
In July, the Israeli government announced that it had identified 100 terrorists affiliated with Hamas and similar groups working on behalf of UNRWA. Several UNRWA personnel who actively participated in the October 7 attack were also identified.
As a result, Israel has worked to limit UNRWA's malign influence. On Thursday, the Israel Land Administration (ILA) announced UNRWA has lost its Jerusalem site, which will now be turned into an apartment complex.
“The UNRWA complex in Jerusalem's Ma'arot Dafna is planned to be a 1,440-unit housing project,” the newspaper said. jerusalem post office It was reported on Friday. The move follows an announcement by the Israel Land Administration that UNRWA will be forced to vacate the premises and pay overdue rent.
The move received some positive reactions within Israel.
“Congratulations to the ILA for its swift action. The UNRWA personnel involved in the October 7 massacre should receive the harshest punishment and the rest should be deported.” post He quoted Maj. Shay Rosengarten, president of the Im Tilts organization.
So did Likud MP Dan Iroz. I clapped Comments cited by the paper called the move “an important step, but not enough.” Israel Hayomaccused UNRWA of being a “hotbed of terrorism disguised as humanitarianism”.
As of Friday, UNRWA leadership: claimed Israeli authorities reportedly did not directly inform them that they would need to vacate their Jerusalem offices in order to secure housing.
“We have only seen it through the media,” said Farhan Haq, a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. “We have not received any formal notification.” Haq insisted that Israel “respects and respects” the “inviolability” of UN facilities.
The United Nations also protested They opposed a bill that formally severed ties between Israel and UNRWA, which passed a parliamentary committee on Monday, the anniversary of the October 7 massacre. The bill would make it illegal for UNRWA staff to have contact with Israeli officials, resulting in them losing diplomatic status and “economic benefits.”
UNRWA operates in Israel as a result of an agreement signed in 1967.
“Israeli officials have described the destruction of UNRWA as a war goal. A bill to end our operations is ready for final adoption in the Israeli parliament,” said UNRWA Director-General Philip. Lazzarini said. I lamented this week. “The bill seeks to ban the presence and activities of UNRWA in Israeli territory and to strip its privileges and immunities, in violation of international law. If passed, the bill would have serious consequences. .”
Guterres is independent said On October 8, he announced that he had appealed directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to oppose the bill that would expel UNRWA from Israel.
“This bill effectively ends coordination to protect United Nations convoys, offices and shelters that serve hundreds of thousands of people,” Guterres argued, adding that the bill would They also claimed that their access to UNRWA education would be cut off.
Education is a key part of UNRWA's mission in Gaza. Years of reporting has revealed that UNRWA schools use textbooks that actively indoctrinate children with anti-Semitism. For example, one such report in 2017 found that children in Gaza are taught that Israel is not a country and that Jewish holy sites in the region are Muslim holy sites that have been “usurped by Jews.” It turned out that it was.
UNRWA schools also serve as infrastructure for hiding Hamas weapons and terrorists. During self-defense operations in Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) discovered a wide variety of terrorist facilities hidden in UNRWA hospitals, offices, and schools. The IDF discovered that UNRWA's Gaza City headquarters housed a Hamas “command center” before Israeli forces neutralized it.
UNRWA was also found to have played a major role in the October 7 atrocities. Israel in January announced It announced that it had identified 13 UNRWA personnel who directly participated in the October 7 attack. UNRWA acknowledged in August that it had independently confirmed that nine of its staff “may have been involved” in the October 7 attack.
“In the interest of the authority, the employment of these individuals will be terminated,” UNRWA said.
Another group of UNRWA personnel did not take part in the October 7 attacks, but actively supported them. The watchdog group UN Watch discovered a group chat on the encrypted social media application Telegram consisting of around 3,000 UNRWA members that was buzzing with pro-Hamas activity on the day of the attack.
“Our new report identifies more than 25 other UNRWA teachers in chat groups celebrating jihadist terrorism and the murder of Jews,” said Hillel Neuer, director of UN Watch. told Congress at a hearing in January. The agency's employees “regularly call for the production of materials that murder Jews, glorify terrorism, encourage martyrdom, demonize Israelis, and incite anti-Semitism,” he said. insisted.
