Israel says UN aid agency UNRWA 'riddled' with Hamas operatives
World
Israel alleged that UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is full of Hamas operatives.
JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel alleged on Wednesday that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is full of Hamas operatives and reaffirmed its commitment to end ties with the agency this week.
"UNRWA equals Hamas. Israel has made public irrefutable evidence UNRWA is riddled with Hamas operatives," government spokesman David Mencer told journalists as Israel prepares to cut ties with the agency on Thursday.
"Israel makes clear... if a state funds UNRWA, that state is funding terrorists.
"UNRWA employs over 1,200 Hamas members, including terrorists who carried out the October 7 massacre," Mencer alleged. "This isn't aid, it's direct financial support for terror."
Later on Wednesday Israel's Supreme Court rejected a petition by Palestinian human rights group Adalah contesting the ban.
"Having considered the arguments of the parties, I have not considered it appropriate to issue the requested stay order," the court ruled.
It added that the legislation "prohibits UNRWA activity only on the sovereign territory of the State of Israel" but "does not prohibit such activity in the areas of Judea-Samaria (the occupied West Bank) and the Gaza Strip".
The legislation does apply however to Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, where UNRWA has a field headquarters for its operations in the West Bank.
Reacting to the court's decision, Adalah said Israel was "disregarding the catastrophic humanitarian consequences".
Israel, backed by Washington, will cease contact with UNRWA from Thursday, a move that has drawn condemnation from US allies as well as aid groups.
UNRWA's offices and staff in Israel play a major role in the provision of healthcare and education to Palestinians, including those living in Gaza, devastated by 15 months of war with Israel.
'IRREPLACEABLE'
The agency says it has brought in 60 percent of the food aid that has reached Gaza since the war started with Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
But it has long clashed with Israeli officials, who have repeatedly accused it of undermining the country's security.
UNRWA must cease its operations and evacuate all premises it operates in annexed east Jerusalem on Thursday, the Israeli envoy to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
UN chief Antonio Guterres demanded that Israel retract its order.
"I regret this decision and request that the government of Israel retract it," he said, stressing that UNRWA was "irreplaceable".
The agency's chief Philippe Lazzarini said UNRWA's capacity "far exceeds that of any other entity."
He called Israel's actions against UNRWA a "relentless assault... harming the lives and future of Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territory".
Israel claims that a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the deadly 2023 attack, and insists that other agencies can pick up the slack to provide essential services, aid and reconstruction -- something the UN and many donor governments dispute.
A series of investigations, including one led by French former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some "neutrality related issues" at UNRWA -- but stressed Israel had not provided evidence for its headline allegation.
Under President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House earlier this month, United States has backed the Israeli ban, accusing UNRWA of overstating its impact.
Under Trump's predecessor Joe Biden, Washington had supported UNRWA continuing its work but withheld funding at the insistence of Congress.
Palestinians in the war-devastated Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, are expected to be hardest hit by the Israeli ban.
UNRWA also provides support for Palestinian refugees around the Middle East.
