Israeli parliament bans UNRWA over terrorism ties

Israel's parliament has passed legislation to end UNRWA’s activities with the country following confirmation that one of the U.N. agency’s employees commanded an attack to kill and abduct Israelis during Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre. 

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East has come under increased scrutiny following reports that multiple UNRWA employees participated in Hamas’ terrorist attack last year and even held Israeli hostages in their homes. 

Other U.N. agencies will continue operations, however, including the World Food Program, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and other groups, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said, according to The Times of Israel.  

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Two bills passed in the Israeli Knesset earlier this month were voted on by the Knesset plenum on Tuesday. One of the bills states that UNRWA “shall not establish any representation, provide any services or conduct any activities within the territory of Israel,” The Guardian reported last week. 

The approval of the bills follows UNRWA’s confirmation that Muhammad Abu Attawi, who was killed in an Israeli Defense Forces strike, was one of the agency’s employees.

As The Times of Israel reported, Attawi served as Nukha commander in Hamas’s Bureij Battalion. A screenshot the IDF shared last Wednesday shows Attawi’s name on a UNRWA spreadsheet.  

Attawi, who had worked for UNRWA since July 2022, led an attack on a bomb shelter near Kibbutz Re’im during Hamas’ invasion last year. The shelter is where some attendees of the Nova Music Festival hid after terrorists descended on the event and started shooting people. 

Hamas murdered at least 16 people hiding in the shelter and took several others hostage, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin. Last month, thousands attended a funeral in Jerusalem following confirmation that Goldberg-Polin was one of many hostages murdered by the terror group. 

According to the IDF, the UNRWA employee, in addition to leading the killing and abduction of Israelis from the bomb shelter, also participated in attacks against troops throughout the war in Gaza. Israel launched a military offensive in Gaza following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks to eradicate the terror group and recover the hostages. 

In a statement last Thursday, IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said Israel is requesting “urgent clarifications” from senior officials at the U.N. and an investigation of UNRWA employees’ involvement in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks. 

The UNRWA did not respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment. 

These latest revelations about a UNRWA employee are not the first time the agency has come under scrutiny. Earlier this year, nine UNRWA staffers were terminated following an investigation the U.N. Office of Oversight Services launched in response to reports about employees’ terrorist ties. 

Before the termination of the nine staffers, UNRWA fired 12 staffers and put seven others on leave without pay. UNRWA Communications Director Juliette Touma told The Associated Press at the time that the group of nine included individuals from both groups.

By the time of the terminations, Israeli intelligence had already raised concerns about UNRWA employees’ ties to Hamas. In late January, Israeli intelligence estimated that around 10% of UNRWA's 12,000 staffers in Gaza have ties to Hamas and other terrorist organizations. 

A dossier shared with the U.S. government and obtained by The Wall Street Journal estimated that about 1,200 UNRWA employees in Gaza have links to Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Amid these concerns about its staffers, UNRWA also faced questions about Hamas terror tunnels located beneath the agency’s Gaza headquarters. These tunnels contained an electrical room and living space for Hamas terrorists.

In February, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini claimed that the organization only became aware of the tunnels through media reports. Lazzarini stated that UNRWA staff complied with Israel’s orders to evacuate as bombardments increased in the area. 

“We have not used that compound since we left it, nor are we aware of any activity that may have taken place there,” the UNRWA commissioner-general stated.