UN Fires 9 UNRWA Employees For Its Potential Involvement In Oct. 7 Attack (image: x.com/UNRWA)
Following an internal investigation, United Nations (UN) fired nine employees from its main agency for Palestinian humanitarian relief, UNWRA, referring they “may have been” involved in the October 7 attack.
The probe was started in January after Israel‘s allegation that some UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) employees has participated in the attack that left 1,200 Israeli people dead.
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Juliette Touma, communications director for the UNRWA told CNN that following Israel’s accusations, some on the nine were fired in January, and remaining were fired after new accusations were made this spring.
The UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) investigated a total of 19 employees who were accused by Israel of participation.
Concerning the nine cases, OIOS said in a statement: “the evidence obtained by OIOS indicated that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the armed attacks of 7 October 2023. The employment of these individuals will be terminated in the interests of the Agency.”
Meanwhile, in one case, OIOS located no evidence to support the accusations of the staff member’s involvement, while in nine other cases, “the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient to support the staff members’ involvement,” the statement added.
Attacking UNRWA, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Nadav Shoshani said in a statement on X: “9 of your employees might have participated in the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.”
.@UNRWA 9 of your employees might have participated in the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
And no, this isn’t evidence “fabricated” by us. This is straight from the @UN itself.A UN investigation (yes, UN as in the the first two letters of UNRWA) has concluded…
— LTC Nadav Shoshani (@LTC_Shoshani) August 5, 2024
“Your “relief” agency has officially stooped to a new level of low, and it is time that the world sees your true face,” he added.
Similarly, Oren Marmorstein, the spokesperson for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, wrote on X: “UNRWA is part of the problem and not part of the solution, and anyone who seeks the best interests of Israel, the Gaza Strip and the region should act to replace UNWRA’s activities with other agencies.”
It is too little too late, but the truth is starting to come to light.
The probe by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) proves that Israel’s assertions about the involvement of UNRWA employees in the October 7 massacre are credible and true.
And that’s just… pic.twitter.com/8jUBp8sOgb
— Oren Marmorstein (@OrenMarmorstein) August 5, 2024
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Meanwhile, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement: “The agency’s priority is to continue lifesaving and critical services for Palestine refugees in Gaza and across the region, especially in the face of the ongoing war, the instability and risk of regional escalation,” the CNN reports.
UNRWA was established by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 1949, a year after the Arab-Israeli war. The agency provide aid and relief to all refugees resulting from the 1948 conflict. It has been the main agency in distributing assistance to Palestinians in Gaza since the October 7 Israel-Hamas attack.
The allegations resulted several UNRWA’s top donor countries to suspend their funding for the agency. Though most of the donors have resumed their funding, the United States did not.
