Gaza dissident exposes UN, Amnesty Int’l complicity with Hamas

Human rights activist in Gaza reveals Hamas’ total domination of UNRWA and Al Jazeera in the Gaza Strip, says Amnesty International researcher lobbied Hamas to have him arrested.

By World Israel News Staff

A Gazan dissident and peace activist jailed by Hamas accused the terrorist group of dominating the United Nations agency tasked with supporting refugees inside the Gaza Strip, adding that the UN and international human rights groups have been complicit with the Gaza terror group.

In an exclusive interview published Monday by the non-profit group UN Watch, Rami Aman took aim not only at Hamas, but also at  the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the Qatari media outlet Al Jazeera, and Amnesty International, accusing the latter of colluding with Hamas to have him imprisoned.

Originally a journalist, Aman became a dissident peace activist in the 2010s, challenging the ruling Hamas terror organization while working to build bridges with Israelis.

Arrested by Hamas on multiple occasions, Aman was detained by the terror group from April 2020 to late October of that year after he hosted a Zoom video conference promoting normalization between Israel and Gaza.

Speaking with UN Watch, Aman blasted Amnesty International, accusing the group of collaborating with Hamas to prevent his attempts to promote peace between Israelis and Gazans.

Immediately after a Zoom video conference, Aman said, Amnesty International researcher Hind Khoudary, now a popular Al Jazeera reporter in Gaza, publicly called on Hamas to arrest him for his peace initiatives.

“In 2020, we organized a big conference between 10 Gazans and 300 Israelis,” Aman said. “We were talking about coronavirus — not talking about one state or two states or talking about negotiation. We were talking about how we can save each other.

“And two days later,” he continued, “I found a post started from a journalist working with Amnesty called Hind Khoudary, asking Hamas and mentioning Hamas leaders on Facebook, to arrest me. And that happened just a day later.

“This surprised me from the first time because when I checked Hind Khoudary’s profile, I saw that she is working with Amnesty and she is a journalist, and I know that she is a US fellow.

“So for me, how come Amnesty is calling for my arrest? How come a journalist asking the security to arrest me?”

Aman accused Al Jazeera‘s Gaza operations of serving effectively as a mouthpiece for Hamas. He derided the outlet, which, he said, had no credibility inside the Gaza Strip.

“For many Palestinians, Al Jazeera is not trusted inside Gaza. No Palestinian in Gaza watches Al Jazeera. No Palestinian in Gaza trusts in UNRWA. No Palestinian in Gaza trusts in all of these media,” he added.

The outlet, Aman said, ignored protests he had organized in Gaza against Hamas “because Hamas controlled the media inside Gaza and outside Gaza.

“You will not find Al Jazeera cover any demonstration in Gaza calling for peace or calling to end the war. But you will find Al Jazeera cameras over the Israeli community, because they want the pressure that comes from there — from Israel, not from Gaza.”

UNRWA’s Gaza branch is similarly dominated by Hamas, according to Aman, and even helps facilitate Hamas looting of international aid.

“In 2007, Hamas started to control everything in Gaza. The media, UNRWA, the private sector… UNRWA was one of these organizations that Hamas distributed their leaders inside and distributed their employees. Because in UNRWA, it’s like a very good salary for them, and it’s not for all people in Gaza,” he said.

“The humanitarian aid sells in the markets and sells in the malls inside Gaza. And it’s easy to find these foreign employees watching that. But it’s written ‘not for sale’—written by the United Nations. But it sells to the people. Who started that? UNRWA and Hamas also.”