The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is losing donors after allegations that some of the organization’s employees took part in Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre in Israel that saw approximately 1,400 civilians raped, mutilated, or murdered, and hundreds taken hostage. On Saturday, Germany, Scotland, and the Netherlands announced that they would suspend funding for UNRWA. The three European countries join a growing list of countries to suspend funding, including Switzerland, the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, and Finland.
The U.K.-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) provided proof in a 123-page report released Monday, saying that “at least 14 teachers and staff at UNRWA schools have publicly celebrated the October 7 massacre and other Hamas attacks on their social media accounts.”
The Biden administration has given the U.N. agency $1 billion of taxpayers money since 2021. UNRWA operates schools and other humanitarian services in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. The agency is now facing intense scrutiny and even accountability over accusations that it perpetuates the conflict between Israel and Palestinians by maintaining the status of refugees far beyond the accepted norm for other refugees around the world, and failing to prevent the teaching of Islamic terrorism, violence and antisemitism.
According to a Fox News report, IMPACT-se CEO Marcus Sheff is quoted as saying, “Time and again we have warned that UNRWA staff and school materials have created a breeding ground for terror. Our worst fears have now been tragically realized with the horrific attack on Oct. 7. All governments that fund UNWRA, including the United States, must urgently review and concurrently freeze financial support to UNRWA to help ensure that another generation is not lost to the evils of hatred and incitement.”
The report reveals that Mahmoud Abu Adhm, an UNRWA employee in Gaza, posted numerous pro-Hamas messages in support of the Oct. 7 atrocities. On Oct. 10, he encouraged Hamas to murder Israeli hostages, stating, “Do not walk past a captive who has not been given amnesty without striking off his neck so as to terrorize the enemy.” He cited Islamic texts that promote cruelty toward the enemy.
According to IMPACT-se, “Since October 7, Abu Adhm has posted notable content showing support for the Hamas attack. In the first post, he describes the joy in “people’s hearts” to have seen Gazan Palestinians martyred. In the second post, he shares an image of a Palestinian woman holding a banner which states “this land is not big enough for two nationalities: either us, or us”, meaning that only the Palestinians have any right over the land.
Afaf Talab, a teacher who the IMPACT-se report says is employed by UNRWA, shared on his Facebook page a video in which the Hamas massacre is termed the “first real victory” on the way to liberating all Palestinians.
The report also highlights Sarah Alderawy who identifies herself on her Facebook page as an UNRWA teacher and an English tutor in Gaza. Since October 7, Alderawy has been active on Facebook, publishing a variety of problematic posts which celebrate violence and reject peacemaking.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said his organization will hold accountable any UNRWA staff member who was involved in Hamas’s atrocities amid decisions by several countries to suspend funding the organization. “Any UN employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution,” the UN chief said in a statement. “The Secretariat is ready to cooperate with a competent authority able to prosecute the individuals in line with the Secretariat’s normal procedures for such cooperation.”
Guterres called on the nations which have suspended funding to reverse their decision. “The tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized. The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met.”
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan challenged Guterres for seeking funds for the organization in light of these allegations, charging that he “proves again that the lives and safety of Israeli citizens are not really important to him.” “After years in which he ignored the evidence shown to him personally about the support and involvement of UNRWA in incitement and terror, and before he launches a comprehensive investigation to locate all the terrorists and murders of Hamas in UNRWA, he is focused on drawing support for the organization of murder and terrorism,” Erdan said. “Every country that continues to fund UNRWA before a comprehensive investigation into the organization needs to know that its money will be used for terror and the assistance that is given to UNRWA is liable to go to Hamas terrorists instead of the population of Gaza,” he added.
The U.S. State Department published a statement on the matter, saying, “The United States is extremely troubled by the allegations” and has “temporarily paused additional funding for UNRWA while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Guterres “to emphasize the necessity of a thorough and swift investigation of this matter,” according to the statement. “There must be complete accountability for anyone who participated in the heinous attacks of October 7.”
The State Department emphasized UNRWA’s role in assisting the Palestinians but noted that “it is important that UNRWA address these allegations and take any appropriate corrective measures, including reviewing its existing policies and procedures.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz has called on UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini to resign after saying earlier the body “must be replaced with agencies dedicated to genuine peace and development” after the war in Gaza is over.
“Mr Lazzarini please resign,” Katz said on social media platform X on Saturday. The foreign ministry aims to ensure “that UNRWA will not be a part of the day after,” Katz wrote. Katz added that he would try to gather support for the move from the United States, European Union and other major donors to the agency, several of whom have suspended funding in the wake of the revelations.
“We have been warning for years: UNRWA perpetuates the refugee issue, obstructs peace, and serves as a civilian arm of Hamas in Gaza,” he added. “UNRWA is not the solution – many of its employees are Hamas affiliates with murderous ideologies, aiding in terror activities and preserving its authority.”