The United Nations has fired nine employees from the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees for their alleged involvement in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
The United Nations In a press release On Monday, the Internal Oversight Service announced it had completed an investigation into 19 employees and that evidence collected showed nine employees “may have been involved in the armed attack on October 7.”
“As for the remaining nine staff members, we have decided that they can no longer work for UNRWA. In the interest of UNRWA, all of their contracts will be terminated,” UNRWA Administrator Philippe Lazzarini said. In a statement.
The internal investigation came after allegations emerged that some staff from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) were involved in attacks in southern Israel last year that killed about 1,200 people.
The investigation also found that in the cases of nine employees, there was “insufficient” evidence linking them to the allegations, and in the case of one employee, it was concluded that there was no evidence to support the employee’s involvement.
Regarding the remaining 10 cases, the UN said “appropriate action will be taken in due course.”
The Biden administration announced in January that it would halt funding to UNRWA following allegations that some of its staff were involved in the attacks. The Biden administration had provided $75 million to UNRWA in October, circumventing funding that had been blocked for years by Congress because of criticism of the agency.
Another independent report issued earlier this year found that UNRWA is not at risk from outside parties. The report determined that the agency has “a significant number of mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with humanitarian principles.”
UNRWA is responsible for providing aid and services to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by Israeli attacks since the war with Hamas began. Lazzarini said in a statement on Monday that the agency would continue to provide services to the people of the Gaza Strip.
“Our agency’s top priority is to continue providing life-saving and vital services to Palestine refugees in the Gaza Strip and throughout the region, especially in the face of ongoing war, instability and the risk of escalating regional tensions,” he said.
