Aid workers accused of taking part on 7/10 attack on Israel - appalling !

[Lanabigbanana]

https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/serious-allegations-against-unrwa-staff-gaza-strip

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-palestinian-refugee-agency-investigates-staff-suspected-role-israel-attacks-2024-01-26/

From the Guardian 5 hours ago;

"UK suspends UNRWA support after Israeli allegations The UK has temporarily paused future funding of UNRWA, saying it is “appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel”.
A statement sent to the Guardian by the UK’s foreign, commonwealth and development office said:
'The UK is appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK government has repeatedly condemned.

The UK is temporarily pausing any future funding of UNRWA whilst we review these concerning allegations.'

We remain committed to getting humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza who desperately need it."

So that's what you think, it isn't fact.

The ICJ may be called "one of the highest court in the world" but has no jurisdiction over non-UN members.

From their website;-

"The Court is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

The Court can only hear a dispute when requested to do so by one or more States. It cannot deal with a dispute on its own initiative. Neither is it permitted, under its Statute, to investigate and rule on acts of sovereign States as it chooses.

The States involved in the dispute must also have access to the Court and have accepted its jurisdiction, in other words they must consent to the Court's considering the dispute in question. This is a fundamental principle governing the settlement of international disputes, since States are sovereign and free to choose how to resolve their disputes."

This reality constitutes one of the inherent dilemmas of international tribunals that lack any enforcement capacity. (ICJ decisions are formally subject to enforcement by the Security Council, but each of the five permanent members can veto any effort at enforcement.)

You misunderstood what I wrote. Their own legal obligations mean their own national laws.

You are obviously a name changer so we can’t check your comments can we.
My comment was responding to the smearing of Owen Jones so stop with the pathetic derailing.

And most of your comments on Israeli rape victims have thankfully been deleted.

I've found the video so that you can judge for yourself @revsersalenergy

Yeah I've seen it thanks.

Here praying that withdrawal of aid to the UN in Gaza means that it will be directed via other organisations, like the Red Cross. Instead of meaning it will not be given.
Why should the civilians be punished, yet once more, for the actions of others?

I am really disappointed and angry at the UN failing to catch people infiltrating their organisation. They should have tougher rules and safety protocols to ensure this never happens again.

You really need to put this into perspective. 12 out of 13,000 working in Gaza. 30,000 employees overall. Yes it is terrible they did infiltrate the organisation but there are very few organisations as large as this that have not had a scandal regarding conduct of a percentage of employees whether it's child abuse, rape, fraud and so on. It is more important to focus on how they deal with it and what they'll put in place to ensure it doesn't happen again

I agree with you @Dulra
They are dealing with it. And priority is to get aid to the civilians.
It is also very important to ensure that the aid and money donated goes to the civilians, instead of others. Somehow it is always the civilian who ends up paying for all failures.

Very well said @Dulra It is a tiny number of people compared to the amount that they employ

12 actively participated, but a group of 3000 UNRWA teachers celebrated the attacks on October 7th their telegram group. I'm sure that not every single group member commented and joined in, but this is not 'just 12' hamas members who have infiltrated the group, this is a culture in a UN organisation that is so entrenched, that the actions of October 7th were openly celebrated and cheered on.

Trust in the UN in Israel, which was poor to start, has been badly shaken. Minimising the extent and scale of how compromised UNRWA is does nothing to repair the breach. If the UN are to play a role in bringing the two sides together, and rebuilding peace, showing strong action here is essential.

As I said before, it is imperative that the acute humanitarian needs of Palestinians are met; how would the UN address this in a situation where a UN organisation was not already in place? Would UNHCR step in? What are the protocols for aid in conflicts where the UN does not already have a presence? Given reports of aid being diverted, stolen, and sold, how the aid is handled once it is over the border clearly needs urgently addressing regardless.

https://unwatch.org/group-of-3000-unrwa-teachers-celebrates-hamas-massacre-and-rape/

That is not tiny

I agree btw

Not tiny but extremely biased source - as was the twitter acc posted yesterday

It may or may not be true - however the 'story' has been around for a few weeks now and hasn't been verified or reported by a reliable source

UNRWA appear to have a large number of staff that have praised 7/10. Videos show staff teaching hatred, shown on other threads, allegedly a small number of staff took part in 7/10. The organisation does need a good look at itself with these separate issues. Who knows what is going on. This could be tge tip of the iceberg.

Perhaps an alternative organisation take over aid distribution at the moment. And needs to get in and distributed fairly

OK, so we are looking at a country's national laws. These can be changed.

Italy is doing just that - https://www.euronews.com/2023/10/11/italys-government-is-trying-to-make-exporting-arms-easier-but-activists-say-itd-be-a-disas

Or perhaps a reliable verified source for this 'story'?

They are investigating. Things will come out in Time. Videos are out there showing what's happening.

They’re corrupt read up on it. Seems are some naive on here

IDK but spreading these 'stories' is best done after the investigations and verification?

There's a public archive of the Telegram messages:

Why do you think that this 'story' hasn't been picked up [after weeks] by a reliable source like BBC Verify or other reputable fact-checkers?

Fox News https://www.foxnews.com/world/un-teachers-celebrated-oct-7-attack-praised-hamas-terrorists-heroes-telegram-channel-watchdog, quoting UNwatch, but added:

"The U.K.-based Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se) issued a 123-page report in November accusing UNRWA teachers of having "publicly celebrated the October 7 massacre and other Hamas attacks on their social media accounts."

Looking up IMPACT-se, this is the first thing that comes up https://www.impact-se.org/unrwa/
"With this damning report, documenting support for the October 7 Massacre among UNRWA teachers and other staff members, IMPACT-se uncovers evidence of the connection between the content of textbooks taught in UNRWA schools and the atrocities committed on October 7, reflecting years of hate-teaching in these schools. The report shows that to date, at least fourteen teachers and staff at UNRWA schools have publicly celebrated the October 7 massacre and other Hamas attacks on their social media accounts. One UNRWA teacher in the school system in Gaza, Sarah Alderawy, posted a video clip on the day of the massacre showing Hamas terrorists roaming the Israeli streets with rifles while shooting at Israeli cars and rocket attacks in Israel. Over half of Gazan school students attend UNRWA schools. The report further reveals that at least 100 Hamas members committing the terror attacks are graduates of UNRWA’s education system, whose textbooks include content that encourages antisemitism, glorifies violence and promotes militant"

IMPACT have published reports prior to Oct-7 highlighting problems within UNRWA teaching materials: Review of UNRWA-Produced Study Materials in the Palestinian Territories
"IMPACT-se’s extensive research of PA school textbooks has consistently shown a systematic insertion of violence, martyrdom and jihad across all grades and subjects, with the proliferation of extreme nationalism and Islamist ideologies throughout the curriculum. Yet, it is this material that is taught in UNRWA-run schools throughout the Palestinian Territories of the Gaza Strip and West Bank as well as Jerusalem. Our research shows that UNRWA, as a UN organization, knowingly produces and teaches material in its Gaza Strip and West Bank schools that are rife with problematic content that contradicts stated UN values. Although UNRWA has claimed in the past that it has devised a methodology to isolate and address problematic content it has not demonstrated how the issue is addressed. UNRWA’s lack of transparency to address such problematic issues make it impossible to evaluate the effectiveness of any efforts it claims to have made. Updated Research of post-November material shows hate remains. " Original report was Jan 21.

Seriously? Fox News and some other online anti-UN organisation?

As I say I'll wait for a reputable fact-checker

The thing is, things are being investigated. Already staff are being investigated whilst suspended. People on these threads spread all sorts of news and information both against Hamas, the IDF, the US, so why is information sharing on UNWRA any different.

Indeed. So much dis-information and mis-information.

So maybe not add to it - that's all