U.N. Fires Multiple UNRWA Employees After Discovering Evidence Of Alleged Involvement In October 7 Attacks

 The United Nations said this week that nine male members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) have been fired following an investigation over their alleged involvement in Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attacks.

Deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq told a U.N. briefing on Monday that “the evidence was sufficient to conclude that they may have been involved” in the unprecedented terrorist attack in which thousands of Palestinian terrorists stormed into Israel and murdered 1,200 people, wounded 5,000+, and took hundreds of people hostage.

The admission comes after UNRWA has denied the allegations for months and falsely labeled accusations as Israeli propaganda and “disinformation.”

The organization launched an investigation after Israeli authorities provided information linking numerous UNRWA workers to the Hamas terrorist organization and the October 7 attack.

“Any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution,” claimed Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner-general.

The U.S. State Department announced in January that in light of the evidence produced by Israel, the U.S. would cut funding to the organization.

“The United States is extremely troubled by the allegations that twelve UNRWA employees may have been involved in the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel,” said department spokesperson Matthew Miller. “The Department of State has temporarily paused additional funding for UNRWA while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them.”

 

UNRWA facilitates the spreading of anti-Semitic propaganda via many avenues, the most troublesome of which is perhaps its production of educational materials for children inciting hatred of Jews. Other examples include Nazi-like cartoons shared on social media by its staff and promoting terrorist-supporting flotillas and violence against Israel. UNRWA has also allowed Hamas to use its facilities and has employed its members as staff.

Hillel Neuer, the Executive Director of UN Watch, told a congressional hearing back in November, “Teachers and schools at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which runs education and social services for Palestinians, regularly call to murder Jews, and create teaching materials that glorify terrorism, encourage martyrdom, demonize Israelis and incite antisemitism.”

“In 2022 alone, UNRWA received $344 million in U.S. funding,” Neuer continued. “Yet a March 2023 report by UN Watch and Impact-SE identified 133 UNRWA educators and staff who were found to promote hate and violence on social media, and an additional 82 teachers and other staff affiliated with 30 UNRWA schools who were involved in drafting and distributing hateful content to students.”

Jonathan Schanzer, the Senior Vice President for Research at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, said during the same hearing in November: “No organization exemplifies the UN’s nurturing of Palestinian grievances at the expense of Palestinians better than UNRWA.”

“The agency has over 30,000 employees,” he added. “UNRWA doesn’t screen them for ties to terrorist groups, meaning that many employees are members of or affiliated with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or other violent groups.”