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."

OK I looked at mine and a major competitor, they seem relatively accurate overall for averages. Salary for my role roughly correct, my boss's ( yes I knew what he earned) is actually lower than it should be.

I am talking here about an International company where there are salary bands but basically you can negotiate.

@ProfessorPipsqueak thing is Israel has been saying this for a while. And it's not the first time unwra has had it's aid blocked. Perhaps there is legitimacy in what is being said? I imagine it's quite provable either way and I don't believe that unwra would have just dispensed with people on Israel's say so. There must be evidence.

Apparently 2 were killed on 7th October, presumably they had ID on them.

Some received text messages telling them where to report, one was told to take RPGs with him so they must have been captured with their phones.

If Israel can prove those then torture wouldn't be needed in those cases but obviously we don't know. People will believe torture or not.

That's why I said it needs to be looked into independently.

There were concerns at least 10 years ago I remember but I've also seen something today (and of course now I can't find it) showing that 20 years ago Canada had concerns about Hamas involvement with UNWRA and was told it didn't matter. That was before Hamas was elected.

If I find it again I'll post it.

That's why I said it needs to be looked into independently.

The WSJ has reviewed the intelligence reports. I presume that any independent review will be from the same reports because I'm struggling to think what other sources would exist to review. Maybe UNRWA paperwork?

Problem is that independent news source look at these facts... like the story of the women and men of Israel being raped... and independently verify these things and yet people still chip, chip, chip away. They deny. They minimise. They sow jumbo seeds of doubt.

I Don't for a minute think it's untrue. The kicker for me is to what extent and how many people knew.

Unwra needs to go.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls on donors to reinstate aid for UNRWA

The member of the US Congress has called cutting off support to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees “unacceptable”.
She called UNRWA “the primary source of humanitarian aid to more than 2 million Gazans.
“Among an organisation of 13,000 UN aid workers, risking the starvation of millions over grave allegations of 12 is indefensible. The US should restore aid immediately.”

Helen Clark, a member of a group of global leaders working for justice and human rights, says she welcomes the decision of several UNRWA donors to maintain funding, so vital humanitarian assistance can still reach the people of Gaza.

“Gazans cannot suffer further collective punishment through suspension of UNRWA funding,” she said in a statement.

I read some reports on twitter that UK banks are stopping donations people are making to UNRWA. Has anyone who has donated had a problem? Mines seems to have went ok but I'm in Scotland where the government doesn't support genocide so...

Mine went through alright yesterday morning - and it was a rather substantial amount (5k within one transaction).

That said, this was before the reports started flowing in, and I do have anecdotal evidence from "friends of friends" whose did not.

You donated 5K to UNRWA yesterday?!

You and @inkworks273 are angels, sending you both love and thanks. The situation is dire right now.

On that this twitter account is going through the "report" relied on to remove funding.

The evidence is extremely weak, firstly the Telegram group was an open group which anyone could join (as opposed to private groups where you have to be invited). Secondly the report writers did not have access to UNWRA employee records and relied on public social media accounts.

https://x.com/eshaLegal/status/1751961293152768427?s=20

Yes, and happily so!

Feel free to report me as a "terrorist financier" or something if you must! Plenty more left to also pay for one shark of a lawyer!

FWIW, I have plenty of criticisms of UNRWA - not the ones Israel usually complains about, mind! Their main beef with UNRWA is the fact that it serves as a permanent reminder of the refugee status of Palestinians!

... but, all that aside: de-funding UNRWA at this present moment amounts to ...

a) a breakdown of the status-quo in terms of humanitarian relief operations in Gaza
b) no other org is going to be in a position to set up a replacement under relentless bombardment
c) therefore, if UNRWA goes down, even more people are starved and thirsted out to death. And I will absolutely not have that!

... especially not while my taxes - way more than 5k - are helping my government support and fund the horror!

Never forget: Israel was accused or genocide before - specifically for the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Lebanon! Even an Israeli investigation back then concluded that the responsible general, one Ariel Sharon, was morally accountable.

Did not stop the guy from becoming prime minister - and overseeing the mass slaughter in Gaza, in Jenin, and in Nablus in 2001/2.

If that was okay, so is "feeding people - when non of the head honchos stand accused in a no alternative scenario".

So sue me! I dare you!

PS: I excpect the state of Israel to send me flowers and a thank you card for helping them get around the "humanitarian aid" provision in the ICJ measures!

I found a link to the Canada article I referred to earlier which shows there have been concerns from some for 20 years. This is prior to Hamas being elected as government of Gaza but it was classified as a terrorist organisation. The UNWRA Head at the time didn't see that as an issue

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canada-examining-contribution-to-un-agency-1.500892

Posted by The State of Israel's official Twitter account managed by the @IsraelMFA's Digital Diplomacy team this morning:

What we know about @UNRWA so far:

12 of their employees were involved in the October 7 massacre

There are reports of two Israeli hostages being imprisoned in the home of an UNRWA teacher

300 UNRWA employees praised the October 7th massacre

UNRWA has become a front for Hamas.

#DefundUNRWA

Then four hours later they link to the WSJ story, like it was news to them.
https://twitter.com/Israel

Technically, it is a lot longer than 20 years!

As mentioned, the main "beef" Israel has with UNRWA is that whoseoever is registered as a Palestinian refugee with them (in the West Bank, in Gaza, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, ... ) is covered by UNGA Resolution 194 pertaining to the right of Palestinian refugees to return back home.

In other words: destroying UNRWA means erasing the Palestinian demand for their right to return.

That is where the real issue stems from. And UNGA Res. #194 dates back to December 1984!

Apart from that: right now, this is useful distraction! "Two birds, one stone", so to speak!

Since AOC's New York district has many Jewish people in it, I'll be watching the November 2024 election with interest.

Feel free to report me as a "terrorist financier" or something if you must! Plenty more left to also pay for one shark of a lawyer!

Absolutely no intention of reporting you for making a charitable donation, just amazed at the size of it.

Call it "heartbroken, desperate corporate executive who cannot even properly focus on working for her evil, capitalist overlords - because I just cannot stop crying!".

Money is the least problem ... I have vowed to myself that I will gladly be fired and ruin my professional reputation over this if I have to. These are my friends being killed, my family in prison!

Who would not???

ETA: Having personally witnessed the utter brutality of Nablus and Jenin back in the early 2000s, I really did think I knew - I had no fucking idea!!!

Then, last week, as the ICJ issued a yellow card, I really thought "okay, watershed moment - this will at the very least turn the horror down a few notches. Which, to be fair, is still fucking horrific - but fewer people will starve to death!" - Once again, I had no fucking idea!

What I genuinely did not expect was a fully fledged distraction / counter attack that would see my own government actively helping to undermine an ICJ order and starve out a starving people.

Honestly, that one fucking floored me!

I did not see that coming! I had been expecting the US, UK & Co. to go all "there, there! tone it down a little and feed people - it will greatly help your optics!".

After all these years, after personally seeing my own student shot to death, I can still be shocked into a crying mess, apparently!

@HeidiInTheBigCity I am sorry for your obviously very genuine distress, for what that is worth.

Who else is going to distribute food with the IDF shooting people who hold up white flags? These allegations concern 12-13 staff and apparently Israel says there are about 190 involved so it’s a tiny proportion of the total 13,000 UNWRA staff.

Daniella Weiss, a head of a settler movement who was at the same ethnic cleansing conference that the Israeli government ministers attended ,is reported to have off called for Palestinians to be starved in order to force them into leaving Gaza.
“The Arabs will move… we don’t give them food, we don’t give the Arabs anything, they will have to leave. The world will accept them,” she told a reporter at the conference.
It’s so horrible I was reluctant to repost the link in case it was a deep fake but
I did listen to her podcast and it was chilling to hear her laugh as she described the forced depopulation of Gaza and the how she had 400 families signed up to settle.
So I think that this move to cut off food is just a way to forward the ethnic cleansing

It means the world, FWIW!

I know we are on "opposite sides", so to speak, but: I hope it means something, too, that, on 10 Oct I called a work colleague and said "please call X and ask how he is doing - you might not know but: he is Jewish and has family in Israel. He knows about my connections, too, so: I am just not sure whether he wants to be hearing from me right now. Feel free to bring it up if it seems appropriate!".

Taking a stance - even a clear one - does not mean being devoid of empathy for how someone else might see it!

@Kindatired I found Daniella Weiss comments about starving the Palestinians really chilling. I think it was the matter of fact tone it was said In. The whole conference regarding settlements in Gaza was absolute madness.