UN
fires additional staffers after probe finds potential involvement in Oct. 7
attack on Israel
On
Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, the U.N. announced that it fired nine staff members from
its agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, after an internal
investigation found they may have been involved in the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023,
attack against Israel.
Updated 2:48 PM CDT, August 5, 2024
JERUSALEM
(AP) — The U.N. said Monday it fired additional staff members from its agency
for Palestinian refugees, bringing the total to nine employees terminated,
after an internal investigation found they may have been involved in the
Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack against Israel.
The
U.N. secretary-general’s office announced the move in a brief statement to
journalists. Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the secretary-general. did not
elaborate on the UNRWA staffers’ likely role in the attack or on the evidence
that prompted its decision.
The
nine fired included some staffers who previously had been fired over the
claims, Haq said, but he did not clarify how many. The agency previously fired
seven employees over the allegations.
The
U.N.’s internal watchdog has been investigating the agency since Israel in
January accused 12 UNRWA staffers of being involved in the Oct. 7 attack on
Israel, in which militants killed 1,200 people and abducted some 250 others.
Israel’s
allegations initially led top donor countries to suspend their funding for
UNRWA. That caused a cash crunch of about $450 million dollars. Since then, all
donor countries except for the US have decided to resume funding.
The
U.N. watchdog charged with investigating UNRWA, called the Office of Internal
Oversight Services, said it drew on evidence provided by Israel in discussions
with Israeli authorities. It said it could not independently corroborate that
evidence since it did not have direct access to it. The investigators also
reviewed internal UNRWA information, including staff records, email and other
communications data.
It
said it found sufficient evidence pointing to nine employees’ potential
involvement in the Oct. 7 attack.
“I
have decided that in the case of these remaining nine staff members, they
cannot work for UNRWA,” the agency’s head 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,” said Lazzarini, who also
said he condemned the Oct. 7 attack.
In
nine other cases, the evidence was insufficient, and in one other case there
was no evidence pointing to involvement.
UNRWA
has been the main agency distributing aid to Palestinians in Gaza during the
10-month old war there, which Gaza Health officials say has killed over 39,600
people and unleashed a mass humanitarian catastrophe.
Israel
has long accused UNRWA of collaborating with Hamas and turning a blind eye to
the militant group’s activities. Throughout the war, it has released images of
tunnels built next to UNRWA facilities. During the war, the feud has escalated,
with far-right protests setting portions of the agency’s facility in Jerusalem
ablaze and calling for the agency’s shutdown.
UNRWA
denies collaborating with Hamas. The agency says that more than 200 UNRWA
staffers have been killed, and 190 of the agency’s installations have been
damaged during the war — including U.N.-run schools that have been turned into
shelters for displaced Palestinians.
———-
AP
reporter Jade Lozada contributed reporting from the United Nations
