Report details UNRWA’s ‘unholy alliance’ with Hamas, Islamic Jihad

More than 100 survivors of Hamas’s October 7 attacks filed a $1 billion lawsuit against UNRWA in June, accusing the agency of ‘aiding and abetting’ the terror group.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

A United Nations watchdog organization accused the embattled UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees of having an “unholy alliance” with the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups in a report released on Tuesday. The report comes as Israeli legislation blacklisting the agency is due to go into effect later in January.

The Geneva-based UN Watch alleges that senior UNRWA officials routinely engage with terror groups, describing each other as “partners” and praising their “cooperation.”

The 55-page report accuses Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, and his colleagues of enabling infiltration by Hamas and other terror groups.

It states that Hamas and Islamic Jihad influenced UNRWA policies, indoctrinated Palestinian children through agency schools, and established military infrastructure near UNRWA’s Gaza facilities.

“UNRWA isn’t just a bystander in the Arab-Israeli conflict – it’s a primary enabler,” observes Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch.

“By allowing terrorists to infiltrate its ranks and incite violence, UNRWA isn’t promoting peace, they’re perpetuating hatred and war,” said UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer.

According to the report, over 10% of UNRWA’s senior educators in Gaza are members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Israeli authorities have also alleged that hundreds of UNRWA’s 13,000 Gazan employees, including teachers, are active members of Hamas.

The report further claims that UNRWA complied with demands from terror groups, such as blocking biometric identification systems aimed at ensuring accurate refugee counts, resisting the adoption of ethics codes protecting LGBTQ rights, and failing to suspend employees who breached neutrality policies.

The UN Watch report highlighted a May 2024 meeting in Beirut where Lazzarini reportedly reached an agreement with terror groups.

Under this agreement, Hamas leader Fathi al-Sharif was allowed to remain the principal of a major UNRWA school and head of its teachers’ union despite his history of glorifying terrorist attacks.

Al-Sharif’s suspension occurred only after a formal government complaint in early 2024. He was later killed by Israeli forces on Sept. 30, 2024. Hamas subsequently confirmed his leadership role and praised his “jihadi education.”

Another case involves Leni Stenseth, a former UNRWA deputy commissioner-general, who visited Gaza in June 2021 to meet Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader.

This visit came after Hamas declared Matthias Schmale, then Gaza director of UNRWA, persona non grata for acknowledging the precision of Israeli strikes during the May 2021 conflict.

Stenseth reportedly removed Schmale from his post and thanked Sinwar for his “positivity” in facilitating UNRWA’s work.

Former UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl met Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders in 2017, fostering a secretive “partnership” and allowing them to influence UNRWA decisions.

After resigning amid scandal in 2019, he controversially became head of the International Red Cross, drawing U.S. Senate protests.

In July, Israel gave the UN the names of around 100 UNRWA personnel who participated in the attack, held hostages, or were members of Hamas.

However, the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services, which investigates mismanagement, fraud, corruption, and other misconduct, only probed 19 personnel. The OIOS did not indicate why it did not investigate the dozens of other workers.

Of the 19 staffers who were investigated, the OIOS said nine “may have been involved in the armed attacks” and that “the employment of these individuals will be terminated in the interests of the Agency.”

According to the report, “The fact that Lazzarini has spent the last 14 months since October 7, 2023, shirking any responsibility by UNRWA for the atrocities perpetrated against Israelis by Hamas terrorists, including the involvement of UNRWA employees in those atrocities and in the ongoing hostilities in Gaza, shows that he is more focused on preserving UNRWA’s image than on ensuring its neutrality and independence.”

Israeli Moves to Shut Down UNRWA

In October, the Knesset passed legislation, which took effect later in January, stripping UNRWA of its diplomatic immunity and barring Israeli officials from cooperating with the agency. In November, Israel withdrew its diplomatic recognition of UNRWA.

More than 100 survivors of Hamas’s October 7 attacks filed a $1 billion lawsuit against UNRWA in June, accusing the agency of “aiding and abetting” the terror group.

According to the suit, the lead plaintiff, 84-year-old Ditza Heiman of Kibbutz Nir Oz, was held captive for seven weeks in the home of a Palestinian man who said he was a UNRWA teacher at a boy’s school.

The suit also alleges that UNRWA enacted an employee payment scheme to benefit Hamas in violation of UN protocols.

Israel’s largest bank froze UNRWA’s account in February over suspicious financial transfers that the agency failed to adequately explain.

That same month, Israeli forces discovered a Hamas complex located directly under the UNRWA’s Gaza City headquarters and connected directly to the agency’s electricity system. The facility included numerous computer servers belonging to the terror group.

In May, UNRWA was ordered to vacate its Jerusalem offices in May over lease violations.

Palestinian refugees are the only refugee population with its own dedicated UN agency. The rest of the world’s refugees fall under the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 97 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015, and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.

HamasIslamic JihadPhilippe LazzariniUN WatchUNRWA