An independent review of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has emphasized the need to strengthen the agency's neutrality.
Earlier this year, Israel alleged that at least 12 UNRWA staffers were involved in Hamas' October 7 terror attacks and claimed that around 12% of the agency's 13,000 employees are members of Hamas or other Palestinian militant groups.
While the review, led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and released Monday, was not specifically tasked with addressing Israel's accusations, it had a broader mandate to evaluate whether UNRWA was taking sufficient measures to ensure neutrality.
Despite UNRWA implementing a "robust framework" in 2017 to tackle neutrality issues, the review found persistent challenges. However, it noted that Israel has not provided supporting evidence for its allegations regarding the involvement of "a significant number of UNRWA employees" in terrorist organizations.
The review highlighted instances of staff publicly expressing political views, the use of host-country textbooks with problematic content in some UNRWA schools, and politicized staff unions causing disruptions and making threats against UNRWA management.
Furthermore, the review found instances of UNRWA facilities being misused for political or military purposes, undermining the agency's neutrality.
In response, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Oren Marmorstein, criticized the report, alleging that it downplayed the severity of the issue and offered superficial solutions. Israel has long-standing concerns about UNRWA's alleged assistance to Hamas and has called for the agency's complete dismantlement.
No comments:
Post a Comment