URNWA - Hamas investigation. Thread 2

[EasterIssland]

Hi.
The previous thread finished on the weekend and a new one hasn’t been opened yet so thought I’d open it finished after some information released by idf about Hamas data center being under urnwa hq

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/conflict-in-the-middle-east/4995041-to-find-the-silence-about-unrwa-being-hamas-hypocritical

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/22/uk-unlikely-to-make-snap-decision-over-unrwa-funding

Funny how the deliberation to reverse this is being framed as not wanting to make a ‘snap decision’, when in contrast the decision to suspend funding from the most important provider of aid in Gaza was taken almost immediatley, and without a thorough review of evidence.

Shame that countries like the uk decided so quickly to cancel something based on nothing and few months after they’ve not reversed yet their decision despite there is 0 evidencs

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/22/israel-unrwa-staff-terrorist-links-yet-to-provide-evidence-colonna-report

From the news above

UK ministers had said they would wait for the Colonna report to make a decision on resuming funding.

The Colonna review, which was drafted with the help of three Nordic research institutes and is due to be published later on Monday, makes clear that Israel has yet to substantiate any of its broader claims about the involvement of Unrwa staff in Hamas or Islamic Jihad.

The Colonna review makes clear that Unrwa is “indispensable” to Palestinians across the region.

I’ve just read the article above. Interesting to note no evidence has been submitted to support the claims made by Israel.

“Israeli authorities have to date not provided any supporting evidence nor responded to letters from Unrwa in March, and again in April, requesting the names and supporting evidence that would enable Unrwa to open an investigation.”

Interesting to note no evidence has been submitted to support the claims made by Israel.

They don't need to, their claim had the desired effect, suspicion thrown at UNWRA enough for some countries to withhold aid. They are snakes (Israeli government).

What's the UK's excuse? Cutting the funding was disgraceful, but not reinstating it is next level.

There is no excuse. It should be reinstated immediately given that it was stopped based on unsubstantiated allegations.

I personally believe we should also significantly increase funding given the U.K. government’s support on the indiscriminate bombing campaign and refusal to stop sending weapons to Israel.

It doesn’t matter if 12, 5, 3 or 0 UNWRA employees participated in the massacre of October 7th because UNRWA is the ideological backbone that gives birth (decade after decade, generation after generation) to the idea of return.
It is absurd that UNWRA doesn’t operate under any international standards and creates perpetual refugeehood.

It counts 5.9 million refugees.
Almost none of them by International standards are refugees.
40% of them are citizens of Jordan.
40% are in the West Bank and Gaza, somewhere they consider to be Palestine and indeed engage in efforts to have Palestine recognised.
The rest are in Lebanon and Syria of which 2/3 have left and become citizens of other countries.
My favourite Palestinian refugee is Mohammed Hadid, the multi millionaire who is an American citizen and father to supermodel Gigi. Yes, he is still on the list as no one is ever removed.

Had the rest of the world been recognised as refugees in the same way as UNWRA does for the Palestinians the (relative) peace that has marked much of the world since WW2 would have been replaced by constant war.

This is the reason why UNWRA should be defunded/dismantled.

@Alwayslookonthe but the point is there has been no evidence given to say that a single member of UNWRA is a member of Hamas. 0 evidence.

I guess they haven't been successful with that argument, the one where Israel wants everyone to forget about the right of return, so they're resorting to calling them terrorists now without evidence.

It’s depressing that this is accepted without actual evidence.

The Palestinians do not possess a ‘right’ to return. Please see above.

RTE news : UNRWA review finds neutrality issues persist at UN agency

http://www.rte.ie/news/middle-east/2024/0422/1445006-unrwa/

Good summary here. There are some issues that UNWRA needs to address but no evidence from Israel on links to Hamas and nothing that would justify countries halting aid. I hope UNWRA respond with their own case against Israel for defamation

Again

from the universal declaration of human rights

Article 13

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country

From the guardian link from today uk was awaiting this report to make a decision whether resume funding.

@Alwayslookonthe
Some of the dispossessed are still alive. 1948 is not the Iron Age. My own father was a middle aged man in 1948 and I have a secondary school age kid. Many of the Jewish Israelis are the descendants of people who left the region in the Iron Age but they can “return”. Some have even converted and have no connection to the region at all except spiritual .
So it seems that it’s antsemitic to deny the valid duty of Israel but the Palestinian right of return can be denied. This is why you have a terrorist problem I’m afraid

I always find it ridiculous that the right to return is valid if your ancestors lived on the land 2000 years ago, but if you are born in Palestine you have no right to return.

Non binding and non legal I’m afraid.
Palestinians were not then and are not today citizens of Israel.

they were citizens of Palestine which are nowadays the occupied territories and to which Israel is refusing their return.

Would they be allowed to return back if displaced because of this “war”
or would Israel deny their right like they always have. So there is a law , but because it’s not binding then Israel is refusing it.

Another summary

"The Review revealed that UNRWA has established a significant number of mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with the Humanitarian Principles, with emphasis on the principle of neutrality and that it possesses a more developed approach to neutrality than other similar UN or NGO entities."

Israel has accused UNRWA-run schools of promoting antisemitism in educational materials. This is what the independent review found:

"UNRWA's practice is to use host-country curriculums and textbooks in accordance with UNESCO recommendations."

"UNRWA has consistently worked on ensuring neutrality in its education. To that end, it has developed and implemented a range of frameworks, manuals, mechanisms and procedures to align all educational materials and methods with UN values, principles and guidelines...:"

https://twitter.com/elizondogabriel/status/1782403792987693398

The report is here
https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/2024/04/unrwa_independent_review_on_neutrality.pdf

Thank you for the links @EasterIssland

@Alwayslookonthe regardless of differing views on legal and philosophical points, one very key reason exists as to why UNRWA should continue to be funded today and why its existence matters today: it has demonstrated time and again that it can get food and medicine to the people who need it.

All the other debating points can wait and be argued about for the next however many years. But starving people need food today. So UNRWA matters today. And so the withholding of life-saving funds and resources by governments matters today, too.

Israel tried to deliberately undermine UNRWA. Strong words from Ireland.

Mr Martin said Israel had wanted to undermine UNRWA because of its link to the return of Palestinian refugees following the Arab-Israeli War in 1948.
"UNRWA reflects the principle of the right of return of Palestinians in the event of a two-state solution.
"So, if you undermine UNRWA and remove UNRWA you essentially remove the right to return," he told reporters.

https://www.rte.ie/news/2024/0423/1445100-micheal-martin-middle-east/