Inconclusive UN probe says nine Unrwa workers 'may have' been involved in 7 October attacks on Israel
An internal UN investigation concluded in a highly-anticipated investigation that nine staff members of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) "may have been involved" in the 7 October attacks on southern Israel last year.
Unrwa has fired those employees and said they can no longer work for the agency but did not say that the evidence of those employees' alleged involvement was concrete.
"The evidence – if authenticated and corroborated – could indicate that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the attacks of 7 October," Philippe Lazzarini, Unrwa commissioner general, said in a statement on Monday.
“I have decided that in the case of these remaining nine staff members, they cannot work for UNRWA. All contracts of these staff members will be terminated in the interest of the Agency."
The UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services has been investigating the matter since January, after Israel alleged that 12 staffers of the UN refugee agency were involved in the 7 October attacks, when armed Palestinian groups led by Hamas attacked southern Israel and killed around 1,200 people while taking another 240 people hostage.
Israel responded to those attacks with a declaration of war and has since killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza.
The accusations from Israel, as well as a US media report from Wall Street Journal that stated a significant number of Unrwa workers had ties to Palestinian armed groups, were followed by swift condemnation from Washington. The US moved immediately to suspend aid to the agency and more than a dozen countries followed suit.
The US immediately froze its funds to Unrwa, which prompted a dozen countries, including Germany and Britain, to follow suit – stalling a total of $450m. Unrwa, which was founded after the Nakba (catastrophe) for the Palestinian refugee population when the state of Israel was created, has been the main source of support for Palestinians not only in Gaza but in the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon as well.
In the Gaza Strip alone, the agency has operated over 183 schools (70 percent of which have now been hit by Israeli air strikes) and 22 health centres. The sudden halt of funding put additional stress on those who were displaced internally in Gaza, limiting what little access there already was to food, shelter, and medical care. The US kept its funds frozen for three months before it resumed in early April.
Of the 12 employees facing the allegations from Israel, ten were initially fired from Unrwa (two were confirmed dead).
After the conclusion of the investigation, one of those employees was cleared of all suspicion after "no evidence" was obtained regarding the allegations that they were involved in the attacks, and that employee is now back working with the agency. An additional nine employees were investigated, and the probe found there was "insufficient" evidence to support their involvement in the attacks.
In April, a review of Israel's allegations by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna found that Israeli authorities had not provided "any supporting evidence" to back up their claims.
Since Israel launched its war on Gaza, Israeli forces have killed nearly 200 Unrwa workers and have repeatedly targeted UN shelters in the besieged enclave.
Several countries that initially suspended their donations to Unrwa, including Australia, Canada, Finland and Germany, have since lifted those suspensions, with some citing a lack of evidence.
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