UN admits Palestinian group affiliated with Hamas

The UN has taken its anti-Israel bias to a new level by accepting a Hamas-linked organization aimed at eliminating the Jewish state into the world body. 

By: Aryeh Savir, World Israel News

UN Headquarters. (Stuart Monk/Shutterstock)

The Palestinian Return Center (PRC), a group associated with the Hamas terror organization, was voted into the UN on Monday and received “non-governmental organization status” by the UN committee that oversees non-governmental organizations.

Iran, Venezuela, Sudan, Turkey, China, Cuba and Pakistan were among the 12 countries that voted in favor of granting UN accreditation to the anti-Israel organization. The US, Uruguay and Israel voted against. India, Russia and Greece abstained, and Burundi was absent.

Official UN status as an NGO provides access to UN premises and opportunities to attend or observe many events and conferences at UN sites around the world, essentially giving such groups international credibility.

The London-based PRC promotes anti-Israel activity and propaganda in the political world, on campuses and on the European street.

In 2010, Israel determined that the organization was illegal because of its ties to Hamas. The Minister of Defense at the time, Ehud Barak, signed a warrant which determined that the PRC is an organizational and a coordinating wing of Hamas in Europe. Its activists, the warrant clarifies, are Hamas operatives with connections to terrorist leaders around the world, including at the Hamas branch in Damascus, Syria.

Hamas itself is considered a designated terrorist organization by the US and European Union (EU).

The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) states that PRC promotes the Palestinian “right of return” as a means to destroy Israel. Senior PRC figures send flotillas and convoys to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to undermine Israeli sovereignty and transfer funds to Hamas.

One of PRC’s anti-Israeli propaganda activities is the organizing of annual Palestinian conferences in various European countries. They influence Arab-Muslim communities in Europe to embrace the ideology and political agenda of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

‘Peak of UN’s Theatre of the Absurd’

Israel harshly condemned the vote, saying that “a new low” was reached at UN headquarters.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor. (UN/Amanda Voisard)

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor accused the UN of lending support to a terror organization. “Until today, the UN has given Hamas discounts and let it strengthen its activities. Now the UN went one step further and gave Hamas a welcoming celebration at its main entrance, allowing it to be a full participant,” Prosor declared.

“The organization, which received the majority of the votes, denies Israel’s right to exist, supports the right of return of refugees to Israeli territory in order to establish a Palestinian state instead of the Jewish state, and opposes the peace process,” he said.

At this rate, he continued, “one day we may find Hezbollah sitting at the Security Council and ISIS (the Islamic State), voting at the Human Rights Council. This is the peak season for the UN’s Theatre of the Absurd.”

Ehud BarakEuropean UnionHamasITICProsorUnited Nations