Israel Military Accuse UNRWA of Hiring 450 Terrorists
- AP Photo/Ariel Schalit
Israel – Israel on Monday accused the UN agency for Palestinian refugees of employing hundreds of terrorists, shortly after the embattled agency said Israeli authorities had tortured some of its staff.
UNRWA has faced a funding crisis since Israel in January accused about a dozen of its employees of involvement in the October 7 Hamas attacks on southern Israel.
An international uproar has led to the agency, which provides vital aid to Gaza, having its funding slashed.
Two UN investigations into Israel’s allegations are ongoing.
The European Commission, the third biggest donor to UNRWA after the US and Germany, has demanded a separate audit and wants to appoint experts to carry it out.
Tentara Israel, tank, howitzer dan kendaraan lapis baja terlihat ketika mobilitas militer Israel terus berlanjut di perbatasan Gaza, di Nahal Oz (Doc: Anadolu Ajansi)
- VoxPop.co.id/Natania Longdong
On Monday, Israel vastly increased the scope of its accusations against UNRWA, saying the agency employed more than 450 terrorists from groups including Hamas.
“According to intelligence, over 450 terrorists belonging to terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip, mainly Hamas, are also employed by UNRWA,” an Israeli military statement said.
The military released what it said were recordings of a terrorist working as an Arabic teacher at an UNRWA school - describing his entry into Israeli territory and stating that he is holding female Israeli hostages during the October 7 attack by Hamas.
The allegations came after UNRWA accused Israeli authorities of detaining and mistreating several of its staff from the Gaza Strip.
“Our staff have reported atrocious events while they were detained and during interrogations by the Israeli authorities,” UNRWA said in a statement to The National site.
"These reports included torture, severe ill-treatment, abuse and sexual exploitation. Some of our staff have conveyed to UNRWA teams that they were forced to confessions under torture and ill-treatment while being asked about Hamas's October 7 attack," the agency continued.
“These forced confessions as a result of torture are being used by the Israeli authorities to further spread misinformation about the agency as part of attempts to dismantle UNRWA,"
