Ministry for Diaspora Affairs | UNRWA

Organizational Identity Card – Provision of Assistance to Palestinians who are Defined as Refugees throughout the Middle East UNRWA’s Involvement 06

in the Massacre of October 7, 2023 and whitewashing of Hamas' infiltration of the organization

The Ministry of Defence provided testimonies and evidence stating that UNRWA employees were involved in the surprise attack on Israel. „ January 2024: Israel's Ministry of Defence released evidence proving that UNRWA employees were involved in Hamas' monstrous attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023. „ In response, UNWRA fired several of said employees. UNWRA promised that "Any UNRWA employee who was involved in acts of terror will be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution." However, until now, UNWRA has failed to take any concrete action . „ Israel has provided the agency with evidence that hundreds UNRWA employees are members of the Hamas military wing. „ UNRWA does not consider Hamas a terrorist organization, and therefore does not prevent anyone with links to Hamas from working with the agency. „ Intelligence shows that Hamas considers UNRWA an essential asset both for maintaining its rule over Gaza and for exploiting the agency's facilities to build terror infrastructure. Hamas' links to UNWRA is not a case of "a few rotten apples", as some have tried to portray it. „ UNWRA Director Lazzarini does not enforce the prohibition on membership in armed groups. The "Action Plan" presented by UNRWA to its donors did not contain steps to identify and dismiss employees who are members of armed groups. „ In July, after receiving a list of 100 UNRWA staff who are Hamas or PIJ's military operatives, Lazzarini neither suspended them nor launched an independent investigation . „ In August, a UN probe confirmed participation of UNRWA staff in the 7.10 massacre. The probe by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) declared that Israel's assertions about the involvement of UNRWA employees in the October 7 massacre are credible and true. Yet, UNWRA has not taken new steps to remove Hamas' operatives from its staff.

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