There's an old joke about the United Nations General Assembly that half of the people employed there are spying on the other half (which means that just about everybody is spying on everyone else).
But what are we to make of a UN agency in which it is alleged that at least 10 percent of its staff has connections to known terrorist organizations? Or that a handful (so far) of those employees have been fired over allegations they were participants in a terrorist act?
Welcome to the increasingly disturbing story surrounding the United Nations Works and Relief Agency (UNRWA). The agency employs roughly 12,000 people in Gaza, where Israel is conducting extensive military operations to root out and destroy Hamas. The U.S.-designated terrorist organization has run the Palestinian enclave for several years, and was behind the attack that claimed as many 1,300 lives in Israel late last year.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Israel has shared fresh intelligence with the U.S. government that alleges the terrorist problem at UNRWA is far deeper and more troubling than anyone might have thought:
Intelligence estimates shared with the U.S. conclude that around 1,200 of Unrwa's roughly 12,000 employees in Gaza have links to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and about half have close relatives who belong to the Islamist militant groups. Both groups have been designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. and others. Hamas has run Gaza since a 2007 coup.
“Unrwa's problem is not just ‘a few bad apples' involved in the October 7 massacre,” said a senior Israeli government official. “The institution as a whole is a haven for Hamas' radical ideology.”
Several nations, including the U.S. have temporarily suspended their financial support for UNRWA. Agency leaders criticized the funding cutoff:
“It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an Agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals, especially at a time of war, displacement and political crises in the region.”
“Some individuals” has expanded to a non-trivial share of agency staff. The suspension of funds isn't just warranted, it's really now a question of if they should ever be restarted under the agency's current framework and leadership.
While accountability at the U.N. is spotty to non-existent, even in the best of times, there is every reason for a full-on examination of UNRWA, its personnel, and its funds.
And let's not forget this rather important angle, again from the WSJ:
The Trump administration suspended funding for Unrwa in 2018, saying the agency's mission was fundamentally misguided. The Biden administration renewed funding in 2021.
The reason behind the change in policy:
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the aid reflected the U.S. commitment to advance prosperity and security for both Israelis and Palestinians, and a two-state solution. The move was praised by the Palestinians, and criticized by the Israelis.
That didn't age well. If anything, it calls for the State Department to review why and how it decided to reverse the Trump hold on UNRWA funding and whether the choice to open the taps again only poured U.S. tax dollars into Hamas' pockets.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
