LEBANON September 30, 2024 — Following the IDF elimination of Fathi al-Sharif, director of an UNRWA secondary school and head of the UNRWA Teachers Union in Lebanon, Hamas has publically acknowledged what UN Watch has been saying for months — Fathi al-Sharif is a Hamas leader. In fact, official Hamas channels such as Al-Aqsa TV and Hamas’ telegram describe him as the leader of Hamas in Lebanon.
UN Watch first raised the alarm about al-Sharif back in May when UNRWA Chief, Phillippe Lazzarini, made a trip to Beruit to negotiate with various terrorist leaders an end to UNRWA’s ongoing strike across the country in exchange for the reinstallment of al-Sharif, who was suspended following an allegation that he was engaging in political activities on UNRWA premises. Lazzarini left Beruit having made an undisclosed deal with the terrorists which according to them satisfied their demands and gave way for the end of the strike.
In the meantime, UN Watch drafted a detailed dossier showing the indisputable fact that al-Sharif was well connected to Hamas leaders and openly supported Hamas on his social media. On June 25, UN Watch hand-delivered this dossier to Lazzarini and UNRWA’s advisory commission during their meeting in Geneva. Later that day at a UN press conference, Lazzarini was asked about the al-Sharif case to which he responded that UN Watch’s dossier was “completely wrong” and “deliberately dishonest.” He then stated that al-Sharif was still under investigation and remained suspended. UNRWA quietly pushed this case under the rug while Lazzarini traveled the world telling donor states that according to the Colonna review “UNRWA has the most robust neutrality mechanisms of any similar organization.” At the same time, al-Sharif continued to post on his Facebook page certificates of appreciation from his school’s parents’ association and the test scores of his students, all indications were that he was still involved in school affairs.
A full three months later, al-Sharif is killed and the truth finally comes out. Hamas published a statement calling him the “leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas in Lebanon and a member of the movement’s leadership abroad.” Hamas also stated that “he worked as a successful teacher and administrator, and contributed to building an educated and resistant generation, committed to the struggle for the liberation of Palestine, a career that was full of sacrifices, sweat and blood.” Hamas itself thus exposed the true face of UNRWA: to teach resistance and recruit youth to its ranks.
Hamas poster of al-sharif:
Hamas’ TV channel released a eulogy video where al-sharif appears prominently with Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh. In the video, al-Sharif is also seen leading students from an UNRWA school into a Hamas rally which he then leads. He is also seen walking around town with two Hamas bodyguards. It is abundantly clear from these images that anyone in Al-Buss Camp in Tyre Lebanon and anyone competent who worked with him must have known that Fathi al-Shari held a leadership role in Hamas.
Al-Sharif being escorted by Hamas bodyguards around town:
At his funeral, al-Sharif’s body is adorned with Hamas flags:
Other terrorist groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, and the Palestinian Forces Alliance in Lebanon which includes PFLP and the Houthis also eulogized al-Sharif and called him the leader of Hamas in Lebanon.
Surely after all of this, UNRWA would finally be ready to acknowledge that he was a member of Hamas and they should have suspended him earlier. And yet, they still do not. When Phillippe Lazzarini was asked about this at a press conference in Geneva on the same day it occurred, his response was that “the investigation was still ongoing.” When Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Guterres was asked about this later that day his response was that “most people who are engaged in underground organizations try not to have their involvement known publicly.”
The only problem? Fathi al-Sharif was extremely public about his support and connection to Hamas’ leadership for over a decade. If UNRWA can not close an investigation in 7 months about such a clear-cut case with abundant evidence, what does that say about their potential to uncover hundreds or thousands of lower-level operatives within UNRWA? Why did it take UNRWA years before they even took any action at all?
Astonishingly, this same week the Secretary-General affirmed to member states his “full confidence in UNRWA’s continued commitment to upholding the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality, and humanity.” States like Qatar, Algeria, Luxembourg, and Jordan repeated the same lies about UNRWA’s robust mechanisms, and based on these lies countries like Germany and the EU pledged millions more of taxpayer dollars towards UNRWA.
To top it off, UNRWA’s director in Lebanon, Dorothee Klaus, went on a German radio show on October 1st and denied even knowing what position al-Shairf held with UNRWA in Lebanon. She also denied knowing anything about his support for terrorism. However, UN Watch has obtained a video where al-Sharif shouts about his involvement with and support for the resistance right in front of her only a month after the October 7th massacre.
Radio interview with Dorothee Klaus:
Video of al-sharif proclaiming his support for the resistance in front of Dorothee Klaus and a cheering crowd of UNRWA employees on November 8, 2023:
UNRWA continues to allude to the fact that they suspended al-Sharif in March as evidence of their robust mechanisms to ensure neutrality. The problem is that in addition to all the recent evidence UN Watch delivered to UNRWA on al-Sharif, his Facebook profile is replete with evidence of his involvement with Hamas and brainwashing of children stretching further than a decade. The fact they only suspended him this March is a sign of failure — not success.
Fathi al-Sharif has been a well-known figure in UNRWA since before Dorothee Klaus was Director in Lebanon. In the picture below from 2013, al-Sharif is seen with former Lebanon Director, Anne Dismorr, at a ceremony in his school.
Yet after he rose to prominence in UNRWA, al-Sharif continued to post pictures on his Facebook as a Hamas leader, honoring fellow members with awards and delivering a speech at a clearly labeled Hamas event in 2016.
In 2015, al-Sharif also posted pictures inviting Hamas members including Jihad Taha, the public face of Hamas in Lebanon, to an UNRWA event at his school.
At these events, it was no secret that the stated aim was to brainwash children to fight for Hamas. One featured a workshop on building tunnels with a sign that read “Toward Jerusalem.”
Fathi was also not afraid to post pictures of students dressed in Hamas military uniforms. In the picture below, his son acts as a commander leading a platoon of young children holding weapons.
One collage features a young boy holding a weapon while wearing the school uniform. Next to it, is a photo of al-Sharif sitting at his desk in front of many UNRWA awards.
During the wave of violence that began in late 2015 called by some the ‘Knives Intifada’ because of the 211 knife attacks by Palestinians, al-Sharif organized a school event to celebrate. Fathi al-Sharif delivered a speech stating: “Today we are witnessing a new generation of martyrs who have written stories of heroism and proven that fighting the enemy does not require strategic weapons, but only faith that Palestine belongs solely to us. The love for Palestine is demonstrated only by sacrificing the most precious things for the sake of its liberation. What is happening today in Palestine is a natural response to the crimes of the Zionist occupation.” His student held up signs like the one pictured below stating: “#Jerusalem #My people will be part of the Intifada #The Knives Intifada.”
All of the evidence was out in the open for years, yet UNRWA’s Western figureheads like Lazzarini and Klaus continue to lie and cover up for those who are really in control of UNRWA on the ground. Instead of acknowledging UNRWA’s problems they continue to lie to donor countries and lobby for more funding. To date, they have not once acknowledged that Fathi al-Sharif was a Hamas Leader. The UNRWA Teachers Union in Lebanon did not distance themselves from al-Sharif when it became public that he was the head of Hamas, instead, they have doubled down and made clear that they will continue their open defiance of UNRWA’s neutrality policies. The Union has released a video of al-Sharif publicly endorsing resistance multiple times and continues to glorify him as a “genuine unionist” and as having died as a “noble martyr.” Fathi al-Sharif is only the tip of the iceberg, UNRWA’s relationship to Hamas will continue in his absence. It is time to end UNRWA.
