Displaced Palestinians wait to obtain UNRWA help in Rafah, within the southern Gaza Strip, March 7.
Mohammed Salem/REUTERS
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Mohammed Salem/REUTERS
Displaced Palestinians wait to obtain UNRWA help in Rafah, within the southern Gaza Strip, March 7.
Mohammed Salem/REUTERS
Israel has not provided evidence to help its accusation {that a} “significant” quantity of staff of the U.N. reduction company for Palestinian refugees within the Gaza Strip are members of terrorist organizations, in response to an impartial evaluate commissioned by the United Nations.
The review, launched Monday and led by former French overseas minister Catherine Colonna, did not have a mandate to research Israel’s extra incendiary claim that a dozen employees of UNRWA took half within the Oct. 7 Hamas-led assault on Israel. A separate investigation by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services is main the examination of these claims.
More than a dozen worldwide donors, including the U.S., suspended about $450 million in funding after the allegations in February. Some international locations have restored funding. Congress has suspended U.S. monetary help till no less than March 2025.
UNRWA, formally often known as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees within the Near East, is the principle company in Gaza offering humanitarian help and social companies — crucial at a time when there are dire shortages of meals, water and sanitary situations as a result of of the Israeli army marketing campaign. At a press convention Monday, Colonna mentioned UNRWA “plays an indispensable and irreplaceable role in the region.”
The nine-week evaluate she led centered on whether or not UNRWA was “doing everything in its power to ensure neutrality.” The report discovered the company had important mechanisms in place to make sure neutrality, most likely greater than different U.N. organizations or businesses, which Colonna mentioned was “a necessity considering the very difficult environment, complex and difficult situation in which they operate.”
Even so, the evaluate discovered there have been issues, together with insufficient investigations into allegations of breaches of neutrality made by UNRWA staff.
It additionally mentioned there have been occasions when UNRWA staff expressed political beliefs and that some of its workplaces had been used for “political or military purposes.” The report raised issues about UNRWA colleges, particularly with textbooks the report mentioned had “problematic content.”
The report mentioned UNRWA has obtained sustained criticism, primarily from Israel and NGOs, over the alleged presence of hate speech, incitement to violence and antisemitism in Palestinian Authority textbooks and academic dietary supplements. Some donors have additionally raised important issues. In three worldwide assessments of the textbooks, the report says two recognized “bias and non-compliant content, but did not provide evidence of antisemitic reference.” A 3rd examine recognized two examples that “displayed antisemitic content” however famous that one had been eliminated, the opposite altered.
The report additionally raised issues about screening UNRWA staff. According to the report, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned that till earlier this 12 months, it had obtained employees lists with out Palestinian identification numbers.
“On the basis of the March 2024 list, which contained Palestinian ID numbers, Israel made public claims that a significant number of UNRWA employees are members of terrorist organizations,” the report says. “However, Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence of this.”
The report listed a collection of suggestions to enhance UNRWA operations, together with higher coaching, extra sturdy screening of staff, and a evaluate of content material of all textbooks and dietary supplements.