Secretary Antony J. Blinken meets with UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini in Amman, Jordan, November 4, 2023. (U.S. Department of State)
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has admitted that nine of its staff members may have been involved in the heinous Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
This admission is not just a minor oversight; it highlights a disturbing pattern of complicity and negligence within an organization that claims to uphold humanitarian values.
Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Commissioner-General, confirmed that an investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) found evidence that could suggest these staff members were involved in the attacks.
While Lazzarini attempts to downplay the severity of this finding by stating that evidence was “insufficient” in other cases, the fact remains: nine individuals associated with a UN agency may have played a role in terrorism against a sovereign nation. This is not merely an administrative issue; it is a matter of national security and moral integrity.
Read his statement below:
“I acknowledge the completion of the investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) into the serious allegations that 19 area UNRWA staff members in Gaza were involved in the abhorrent attacks of 7 October on southern Israel.
“The allegations were brought to the Agency’s attention in January. In close consultation with the United Nations Secretary-General (SG), I immediately terminated the contracts of the staff in question, in the interest of the Agency, while the SG tasked OIOS to launch an investigation. Additional allegations were brought to our attention in March and April and the concerned staff were added to the OIOS investigation.
“The OIOS investigation’s outcomes are the following:
“In one case, no evidence was obtained by OIOS to support the allegations of the staff member’s involvement. That staff member has rejoined the Agency.
“In nine other cases, the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient to support the staff members’ involvement and the OIOS investigation of them is now closed.
“For the remaining nine cases, the evidence – if authenticated and corroborated – could indicate that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the attacks of 7 October.
“I have decided that in the case of these remaining nine staff members, they cannot work for UNRWA. All contracts of these staff members will be terminated in the interest of the Agency.
“The Agency’s priority is to continue lifesaving and critical services for Palestine Refugees in Gaza and across the region, especially in the face of the ongoing war, the instability and risk of regional escalation.
“UNRWA is committed to continue upholding the fundamental principles and values of the United Nations, including the humanitarian principle of neutrality, and to ensure that all its staff abide by the Agency’s policy on outside and political activities.
“In April, an independent Agency-wide review by three reputable research centres under the leadership of former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna concluded that UNRWA ‘possesses a more developed approach to neutrality than other similar UN or NGO entities’. The Agency has started implementing the recommendations of the review” and is fully committed to them.
“Finally, I reiterate UNRWA’s condemnation of the 7 October attack in the strongest possible terms. I call – once again – for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and their safe return to their families.”
The UN has a troubling history of allowing its agencies to become entangled with extremist groups.
The Gateway Pundit earlier this year that the IDF has revealed that a top-secret Hamas subterranean data center has been discovered beneath the headquarters of the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza.
According to The Times of Israel, “The subterranean data center — complete with an electrical room, industrial battery power banks and living quarters for Hamas terrorists operating the computer servers — was built precisely under the location where Israel would not consider looking initially, let alone target in an airstrike.”
Philippe Lazzarini claims the organization did not know what was under its headquarters.
“We have not used that compound since we left it nor are we aware of any activity that may have taken place there,” he wrote on X.
However, according to the Community Notes, “The IDF found evidence that Hamas used the UNRWA headquarters as offices, and that power cables ran directly from inside of the UNRWA offices to the underground Hamas tunnels. It is unlikely UNRWA was unaware of the tunnel construction.”
– UNRWA did not know what is under its headquarters in Gaza.
– UNRWA is made aware of reports through the media regarding a tunnel under the UNRWA Headquarters in Gaza.
– UNRWA staff left its headquarters in Gaza City on 12 October following the Israeli evacuation orders and as…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) February 10, 2024
The Gateway Pundit reported that several hostages released by Hamas have testified they were held in the homes of so-called “United Nations” workers.
One of the hostages revealed that he was held for nearly 50 days in an attic by a teacher from the UNRWA, Channel 13 journalist Almog Boker reported.
In November, a UNRWA-run school in Nablus in the West Bank posted a video to its official Facebook page in which a young student called for the victory of Hamas’s “jihad warriors” in Gaza.
Remember, Joe Biden gave the terror group $730 million via UNRWA grants.
At the urging of the United Nations, aid is being sent to Gaza, where it will be received and distributed by Hamas, the authority in Gaza. Designated as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) by the U.S. government in 1997, Hamas imposes taxes on all imports and exports, including aid, which has contributed to Gaza’s initial poverty. Now, with the humanitarian crisis caused by Hamas’s October 7th attack on Israel, the United Nations and the global community are providing funding to Hamas.
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