Hi Foxy,

The link you gave is to an in house investigation of UNRWA.

https://www.unrwa.org/unrwa-claims-versus-facts-february-2024

Why should that be good enough to pass your truth test when anything from Israel you think suspect because it lacks independent verification?

Hi AC,

You are always thoughtful and make a big effort here. The silliest thing that people do is to think others bad for having a differing opinion.

Hi Fester,

I answered your question in error on another discussion.
So I'll try again here.

You asked me why do I believe UNRWA but not Israel?

Because one makes only claims, the other investigates
the claims, takes action and then presents their findings.

Also, as I stated earlier - for more that 70 years UNRWA has
provided support for Palestinian refugees across the
Middle East despite the organizations clashes with Israeli
officials over its work.

Israel has repeatedly made accusations against UNRWA employees
without providing proof and has continued blockades of
humanitarian aid. UNRWA has been a victim to a fierce
disinformation campaign to portray the UNRWA agency as a
terrorist organization.

And yet UNRWA has helped two thirds of all food assistance and
provided shelter to over a million displaced people.

Fester, this conflict is one of the longest running and most
violent disputes in the world. It's origins go back more than
a century:

Here's a history of the conflict explained:

http://bbc.com/news/newsbeat-44124396

Hi Fester,
So long as each side makes a claim on the land there will be conflict.
That conflict will play out in many different ways.

Hi Foxy

There is plenty of evidence of UNRWA co-operation with, and infiltration by, Hamas and other terrorist organisations. For example, Fathi Al-Sharif was assassinated by Israel in September and Hamas confirmed that he had been the head of their operations in Lebanon. He had also headed UNHRWA’s teachers’ union and was principal of an UNRWA school.

Admittedly it is hardly an impartial source, but this report by UN Watch contains plenty of well-documented examples of UNRWA collaboration with terrorists than can easily be verified independently with public sources:
http://unwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/UNW-129-%E2%80%94-The-Unholy-Alliance-%E2%80%94-2025-01-09-%E2%80%94-Web-%E2%80%94-Singles.pdf

Given that UNRWA has operated in Gaza for decades and provides many of the services such as health and education that in most places are provided by government, it is perhaps inevitable that it had to have some functional relationship with the Hamas administration. But that is in my view the source of the problem. UNRWA was supposed to be a temporary arrangement lasting only a year. It has become a permanent institution with a stake in sustaining the status quo, deeply captured by the anti-Israel sentiments of many of its clients. By providing services normally the responsibility of government, it has freed Hamas to use its money and resources to build tunnels, buy arms and fund and train terrorists. In effect, our taxes and those of other donors have subsidised terrorism. UNRWA is most definitely part of the problem, and I hope it has no place in the rebuilding of Gaza.

The UN has a professional and respected institution in the UNHCR which would be better suited to – temporarily – help in aid distribution once the rebuilding of Gaza begins

Hi Rhian,

UN Watch tells us that:

"UN Watch is a leading voice combating anti-Semitism and
anti-Israel bias at the United Nations engaging in
advocacy at the highest level of government and countering
misinformation in the media".

UN Watch says that "It protects human rights world wide
bringing dissidents to deliver testimonies at the United
Nations and parallell events".

You can read more at:

http://unwatch.org/about-us/our-work/

Cheers

Hi Foxy

Given the UN’s long and shameful history of hostility to Israel, I think it is good to have an organisation “combating anti-Semitism and anti-Israel bias at the United Nations”.

But that was not my point. Even if you disagree and suspect their motives, the documents UN Watch produces include detailed evidence that can be independently verified to support or reject their claims. So it is not necessary to decide whether you believe the UN or Israel, or even UN Watch. You can check the evidence for yourself.

Here, for example, is a Wikipedia piece that confirms UN Watch’s claim that Fathi Al-Sharif was both a Hamas operative and a UN employee:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatah_Sharif