UN Probe: ‘Israel’ Failed to Prove UNRWA Staff Linked to Hamas

By Staff, Agencies

An independent review by the UN has found that “Israel” has not provided evidence for its claims that many employees of UNRWA, the main agency for Palestinian refugees, belong to Hamas Resistance movement in the Gaza Strip.

In January, “Israel” claimed that 12 UNRWA employees of being part of October 7, and their contracts were later terminated by UNRWA.

The Colonna report, which was commissioned by the UN to look at UNRWA’s operations and policies, said “Israeli” authorities have not responded to letters from UNRWA in March and April requesting names and evidence in order to open an investigation.

The “Israeli” government, according to the independent review, "has not informed Unrwa of any concrete concerns relating to Unrwa staff since 2011".

A six-page “Israeli” intelligence dossier, made public also in January, alleged that a further 190 UNRWA staff have doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad operatives.

“Israel's” Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on X that the report "ignores the severity of the problem, and offers cosmetic solutions that do not deal with the enormous scope of Hamas' infiltration of UNRWA."

Several countries that froze their contributions, including Australia, Canada and Finland, have since lifted those suspensions, with some citing a lack of evidence.

The UK government, which froze its funding, has said it would await the findings of the report before deciding whether to restore its contribution.