JERUSALEM: Israel alleged on Wednesday that the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) is full of Hamas operatives and reaffirmed its commitment to end ties with the agency this week.
“UNRWA equals Hamas. Israel has made public irrefutable evidence UNRWA is riddled with Hamas operatives,” government spokesman David Mencer told journalists as Israel prepares to cut ties with the agency on Thursday.
“Israel makes clear... if a state funds UNRWA, that state is funding terrorists.
“UNRWA employs over 1,200 Hamas members, including terrorists who carried out the October 7 massacre,” Mencer alleged. “This isn’t aid, it’s direct financial support for terror.”
Israel, backed by Washington, will cease contact with UNRWA from Thursday, a move that has drawn condemnation from aid groups as well as US allies.
UNRWA’s offices and staff in Israel play a major role in the provision of health care and education to Palestinians, including those living in Gaza, devastated by 15 months of war with Israel.
The agency says it has brought in 60 percent of the food aid that has reached Gaza since the war started with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
But it has long clashed with Israeli officials, who have repeatedly accused it of undermining the country’s security.
UNRWA must cease its operations and evacuate all premises it operates in annexed east Jerusalem on Thursday, the Israeli envoy to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
UN chief Antonio Guterres demanded that Israel retract its order.
“I regret this decision and request that the government of Israel retract it,” he said, stressing that UNRWA was “irreplaceable.”
The agency’s chief Philippe Lazzarini said UNRWA’s capacity “far exceeds that of any other entity.”
He called Israel’s actions against UNRWA a “relentless assault... harming the lives and future of Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territory.”
Israel claims that a dozen UNRWA employees were involved in the deadly 2023 attack, and insists that other agencies can pick up the slack to provide essential services, aid and reconstruction — something the UN and many donor governments dispute.
A series of investigations, including one led by French former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some “neutrality related issues” at UNRWA — but stressed Israel had not provided evidence for its headline allegation.
Under President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House earlier this month, United States has thrown its weight behind the move by ally Israel, accusing UNRWA of overstating the impact of the decision.
Under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden, Washington had supported UNRWA continuing its work but withheld funding at the insistence of Congress.
Palestinians in the war-devastated Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank, including east Jerusalem, are expected to be hardest hit by the Israeli ban.
UNRWA also provides support for Palestinian refugees around the Middle East.
Israel says UN aid agency UNRWA ‘riddled’ with Hamas operatives
https://arab.news/mqjny
Israel says UN aid agency UNRWA ‘riddled’ with Hamas operatives
- “UNRWA equals Hamas. Israel has made public irrefutable evidence UNRWA is riddled with Hamas operatives,” government spokesman David Mencer said
- “Israel makes clear... if a state funds UNRWA, that state is funding terrorists
Syria welcomes Canada’s decision to amend sanctions
- Husarieh said the decision could pave the way for Canadian participation in Syria’s reconstruction and infrastructure development
DAMSCUS: Syria’s Central Bank governor, Abdulkader Husarieh, commended the Canadian government’s decision to amend the sanctions imposed on Damascus under the Special Economic Measures Regulations, including the lifting of the comprehensive economic embargo in place since May 2011.
In a post published on his personal Facebook page, Husarieh described the move as an important milestone that reinforces the implementation of understandings reached during his recent visit to Canada.
He added that the amendment provides an opportunity to boost economic relations and activate cooperation between Canadian and Syrian banks and financial institutions.
Husarieh said the decision could pave the way for Canadian participation in Syria’s reconstruction and infrastructure development.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the Turkish Red Crescent signed cooperation agreements on Friday to strengthen humanitarian efforts in Syria amid ongoing crises and economic hardship.
Syrian Arab Red Crescent President Hazem Bakleh met in Damascus with Alper Kucuk, the Turkish Red Crescent’s director general for international affairs and migration services, to discuss rising humanitarian needs and ways to enhance coordination in support of vulnerable communities.
According to a statement released by the Syrian organization, the agreement provides for expanding relief and service activities.
It includes support for the construction of a new Red Crescent branch headquarters in Idlib province and the launch of a project to distribute hot meals and bread in Damascus and Aleppo during the holy month of Ramadan.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent has sought to broaden partnerships with regional and international organizations in recent years to strengthen its operational capacity across multiple provinces, as the country continues to face economic strain and humanitarian challenges affecting large segments of the population.
