A recent UN investigation has determined that Israel has failed to provide evidence supporting its claim that employees of the United Nations Relief Work Agency (UNRWA) are members of Hamas and participated in the 7th October attack on Israel. In fact, the report concluded that UNRWA has one of the most robust systems in place within UN agencies to monitor and ensure employee neutrality, precisely because of the complex environment in which it works.
In some ways, the report’s findings came as no surprise. Just four days after Israel made their dishonest allegations, SkyNews and others revealed that the brief shared by Israel with media outlets and governments contained no information or evidence to enable them to verify Israel’s claims.
Despite this, the fallout in Western capitals was swift and punishing. UNRWA’s funding was immediately paused or revoked by the US – the largest UNRWA donor – and other Western colonial nations including the UK, Germany, Canada, Australia, and France. In total 16 States withdrew or paused their funding to UNRWA. …..more
