Hamas Archives - UN Watch https://unwatch.org/tag/hamas/ Monitoring the UN Promoting Human Rights Fri, 16 Feb 2024 14:43:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Group of 3,000 UNRWA teachers celebrates Hamas massacre and rape https://unwatch.org/group-of-3000-unrwa-teachers-celebrates-hamas-massacre-and-rape/ Wed, 10 Jan 2024 04:06:19 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=571993 See Full Report A Telegram group of 3,000 UNRWA teachers in Gaza is replete with posts celebrating the Hamas massacre of October 7th minutes after it began, praising the murderers and rapists as “heroes,” glorifying the “education” the terrorists received, gleefully sharing photos of dead or captured Israelis and urging the execution of hostages. “This […]

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A Telegram group of 3,000 UNRWA teachers in Gaza is replete with posts celebrating the Hamas massacre of October 7th minutes after it began, praising the murderers and rapists as “heroes,” glorifying the “education” the terrorists received, gleefully sharing photos of dead or captured Israelis and urging the execution of hostages.

“This is the motherlode of UNRWA teachers’ incitement to Jihadi terrorism,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, the Geneva-based non-governmental organization that monitors the world body.

The Telegram chat group is meant to support UNRWA teachers, and contains dozens of files with UNRWA staff names, ID numbers, schedules and curriculum materials.

In addition, UNRWA teachers regularly share videos, photos and messages inciting to Jihadi terrorism, and openly celebrating the Hamas massacre and rape of civilians.

In a Twitter thread calling on the UN and member states to take action, Neuer documented examples of the thousands of hateful posts:

• UNRWA teacher Waseem Ula, who regularly posts information on salaries that he passes on from UNRWA Gaza head of human resources Sami Abu Kamil, calls to kill Israelis, and glorifies the Oct. 7th massacre. At one moment, Ula informs the group’s 3,000 UNRWA teachers that “salaries will be paid on Sunday.”Another moment, he shares a video glorifying Hamas attacks, and posts a photo of a suicide bomb vest wired with explosives, with the caption: “Wait, sons of Judaism.” Ula also glorified terrorist Akran Abu Hasanen — a perpetrator of the October 7th massacre — as a “Qassami martyr,” “friend” and “brother.” He prayed to Allah to “admit him to paradise without judgment.”

• UNRWA teacher Abdallah Mehjez does Hamas’ work by urging Gaza civilians not to heed warnings to move out of harm’s way, and instead to serve as human shields. Before UNRWA, this terrorist accomplice worked for the BBC.

• UNRWA teacher Shatha Husam Al Nawajha (UNRWA Contract #30030836) often shares information in the group on when and how to get paid UNRWA salaries. On October 7th, when her colleague exulted, “They breastfed Jihad with their mothers’ milk,” she added “May Allah grant them victory.”

In previous reports and recent testimony before the U.S. Congress and the German Bundestag, UN Watch has documented how UNRWA teachers systematically indoctrinate Palestinian children and promote terrorism and antisemitism.

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]]> UNRWA Misinformation on Hamas-Israel War https://unwatch.org/unrwa-misinformation-on-2023-israel-hamas-war/ Sun, 31 Dec 2023 15:31:55 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=571905 As a supposedly neutral UN agency, UNRWA should be promoting peace pursuant to the UN Charter. Yet, time and again, we see the UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians doing the very opposite—spreading misinformation and fueling conflict—enabling Hamas terrorism. Following October 7th, UNRWA teachers cheered the Hamas massacre on social media. When UN Watch exposed this in […]

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As a supposedly neutral UN agency, UNRWA should be promoting peace pursuant to the UN Charter. Yet, time and again, we see the UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians doing the very opposite—spreading misinformation and fueling conflict—enabling Hamas terrorism.

Following October 7th, UNRWA teachers cheered the Hamas massacre on social media. When UN Watch exposed this in a new report, instead of addressing the issue, UNRWA dismissed our human rights organization as “extremists trying to undermine the agency.” When journalist Almog Boker of Israel’s Channel 13 reported that one of the released Israeli hostages had been held captive by an UNRWA teacher, UNRWA’s first reaction was to lash out at Boker, accusing him of spreading “misinformation” based on “unsubstantiated” information. Boker rejected the accusation, reaffirming that the report was the direct testimony of a survivor. 

In fact, it is UNRWA that is spreading misinformation. Since October 7th, UNRWA has repeatedly disseminated pro-Hamas propaganda that criticizes any Israeli military action—be it attacks on Hamas military assets or calls on the Gaza civilian population to evacuate—while at the same time refusing to hold Hamas accountable for any violations. For example, Hamas weapons and tunnels have been found in or under UNRWA schools, including under UNRWA crates and in UNRWA sacks and Hamas has attacked from inside UNRWA schools. Nevertheless, UNRWA always blames strikes on UNRWA facilities on Israel, either directly or by implication. UNRWA never holds Hamas responsible and almost never even mentions Hamas. 

UNRWA’s tweets are filled with outright lies and highly misleading information designed to generate international condemnation for Israel while giving Hamas a free pass. Naturally, this serves Hamas’s goal of increasing international pressure on Israel to stop its military campaign prematurely, before Hamas is destroyed so that Hamas can continue its campaign of terrorism against Israel.

Below is our response to a sample of UNRWA’s tweets in the twelve-days leading up to Christmas containing lies and misinformation that aid Hamas.


UNRWA Misinformation on Twitter from December 13-24, 2023


1. 20,000 Civilians Killed (@UNRWA, December 24, 2023)

UNRWA Tweet: @UNRWA mourns 142 colleagues killed in #Gaza, alongside over 20,000 civilians killed since the war began…

UN Watch Comment:

UNRWA relies on the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health for its casualty numbers, which does not distinguish between civilians and Hamas combatants, so it is misleading for UNRWA to label all 20,000 reported casualties as “civilians.” According to the IDF, at least 8,000 Hamas terrorists have been killed as of December 23rd, 2023.

Additionally, a close review of the UN’s official Gaza casualty count reveals that, unsurprisingly, the data is being falsified. The count of children and women casualties on some days increased more than the total casualty count. It is in Hamas’ interest to inflate children and women casualty numbers, blaming Israel to incite global antisemitism and to build diplomatic pressure against IDF operations.

Regardless of the veracity of the numbers, every civilian casualty is a tragedy. However, Israel does not target civilians and actively seeks to minimize civilian casualties. The IDF’s policy of Tohar HaNeshek, or “Purity of Arms,” enshrined in its Code of Conduct, explicitly forbids soldiers from targeting civilians. 

On the contrary, Hamas intentionally targets Israeli civilians every time it fires indiscriminate rockets into Israel with the goal of killing as many Israelis as possible, while at the same time endangering Palestinian civilians by using them as human shields—a double war crime. An estimated 10 to 20 percent of the 12,000 rockets fired at Israel since October 7th have fallen short within Gaza. While we do not know what percentage of the 20,000 reported casualties are due to the 1,200 to 2,400 indiscriminately fired Hamas rockets falling short on Gazans, or due to Hamas attacks on Gazan civilians evacuating south, or seeking humanitarian aid, one thing is clear: Every civilian casualty in Gaza is the responsibility of Hamas.


2. Only a Ceasefire Can Prevent Killing and Destruction in Gaza (@UNRWA, December 23, 2023)

UNRWA Tweet: “We need a ceasefire that will stop the killing of civilians & destruction of civilian infrastructure in #Gaza…

UN Watch Comment: A ceasefire can be achieved immediately if Hamas lays down its arms and returns the remaining Israeli hostages. UNRWA has never called for this.

On December 25th, 2023, it was reported that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad rejected an Egyptian proposal for them to relinquish power in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire.


3. Difficulty in Distributing Aid in Gaza is Caused by Israel (@UNRWA, December 23, 2023)

UNRWA Tweet: “We are not able to distribute as much food as we should – simply because it’s a sky full of airstrikes & there’s very little supplies we’re allowed to bring in”

@JulietteTouma @RTERadio1: It’s been 10 very long weeks of brutal, brutal war in #Gaza

UN Watch Comment: This tweet directly blames Israeli airstrikes for difficulties distributing aid in Gaza. It fails to mention that Hamas actively prevents distribution of aid. Specifically the tweet omits that Hamas gunmen stole humanitarian aid as they beat the Gazans attempting to get the aid and that Hamas operatives commandeered aid trucks carrying food, water, medicine, and fuel. UNRWA tweets never name or condemn Hamas. According to a Gazan civilian, Hamas itself controls UNRWA inside Gaza and steals humanitarian supplies for itself.

4. Israeli Evacuation Orders Put Gazans in Danger (@UNRWA, December 23, 2023)

UNRWA Tweet: Evacuation orders issued by Israeli authorities move people to areas where @UNRWA shelters are beyond capacity & there are ongoing airstrikes

UN Watch Comment: This tweet suggests that Israeli evacuation orders endanger Gazans. In fact, it is Hamas that endangers Gazan civilians by embedding itself in the civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, mosques, and homes. Not evacuating civilians from active combat zones would result in much higher civilian casualties. By providing advance warning to civilians of areas where its battles against Hamas will soon take place, the IDF is fulfilling its obligation under international law at the expense of its military edge.


5. High Number of UN Workers Killed in Gaza Implies Israeli Wrongdoing  (@UNRWA retweeting Antonio Guterres, December 23, 2023)

UNRWA Tweet: 136 of our colleagues in Gaza have been killed in 75 days – something we have never seen in @UN history.

UN Watch Comment: UNRWA retweeted Secretary General Antonio Guterres paying tribute to the 136 UNRWA employees killed in the war. The tweet expresses outrage at the fact that so many UN staff have been killed in Gaza, commenting “something we have never seen before.”

The reason for that, which is omitted from the tweet, is that of all the conflict-affected areas in the world (Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Sudan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, etc.), only the Palestinians have their own UN agency that hires 30,000 mostly local people—more than 10,000 in Gaza alone—to provide basic government services like education and healthcare. Nowhere else in the world does the UN have that amount of staff on the ground, let alone local staff. By way of comparison, UNHCR has a total of approximately 30,000 employees covering the entire rest of the world.

The fact that so many UN employees in Gaza have been killed does not prove that this war is any more deadly than other wars around the world or that Israel is deliberately targeting UN staff. It is indicative only of the fact that the UN devotes far more resources to the Palestinians than to any other conflict-affected population. 


6. Gaza is Worse Than Other Conflicts (@UNRWA, December 20, 2023)

UNRWA Tweet: “All of this is unprecedented: the level of destruction, the displacement of people, the grief this has brought on the agency with the loss of colleagues, the hits on our own facilities”

UN Watch Comment:

What makes the situation in Gaza unprecedented is that a terrorist regime has had 16 years and billions of dollars of international aid to embed its terror operations into the civilian infrastructure for the purpose of attacking the liberal-democracy next door, Israel, from across the border. Hamas’s tactics are designed to achieve maximum levels of civilian casualties and destruction despite Israel’s best efforts to avoid that. The level and extent of Hamas entrenchment among the civilian population hasn’t been seen in any other conflict in the world. 

UNRWA’s choice of the very dramatic word—“unprecedented”—to describe the situation is clearly intended to generate condemnation of Israel, the party carrying out the strikes. The tragic reality is that millions of people in the region from Syria to Yemen are displaced and in dire need of humanitarian assistance due to conflict. 


7. Death of Gaza Children is Evidence of Israeli Violations (@UNRWA, December 19, 2023)

UNRWA Tweet: Nowhere, and no-one, is safe in #Gaza. The killing of thousands of children cannot be collateral damage.

UN Watch Comment:

The reason Gaza is unsafe at the moment is because Hamas has turned it into a war zone by embedding itself in the civilian infrastructure. Knowing how dangerous Gaza is, one has to wonder why UNRWA is intent on keeping Gaza’s civilians in Gaza instead of advocating for neighboring countries to temporarily host the displaced until these hostilities are over? Since Hamas refuses to surrender, continues to attack Israel, and hides behind the Gaza civilian population, Hamas is fully responsible for all civilian deaths in Gaza.

From a legal perspective, this tweet is also wrong. “Collateral damage” is a legal term that comes from the IHL proportionality rule, which the tweet suggests is violated based on the result of the Israeli military strikes, i.e., the number of casualties. However, as military law expert Professor Geoffrey Corn explains, “proportionality is not defined by attack outcome, but instead by asking whether the individual launching the attack made a reasonable proportionality assessment when the trigger was pulled.”


8. Percentage of Destruction and Displacement Make Gaza Situation Unprecedented (@UNRWA, December 19, 2023)

UNRWA Tweet: Over 60% of the infrastructure in#Gaza has been destroyed or damaged.

More than 90% of the Gazan population have been displaced.

This is a staggering and unprecedented level of destruction and forced displacement, taking place in front of our eyes.

UN Watch Comment: The reason there is a high level of destruction and displacement is because Hamas has spent its 16 years of rule of Gaza spending billions of dollars in international aid embedding its terror operations within the civilian infrastructure. It has built over 500 kilometers of subterranean tunnels running under homes, schools, hospitals, and mosques from which it conducts military operations.


9. Israeli Evacuation Orders Constitute Forcible Transfer (@UNRWA, December 18, 2023)

Since the war started, Israeli Authorities have forcibly moved 1.9 million Gazans from their homes- the largest forced displacement of Palestinians since 1948

UN Watch Comment: UNRWA falsely accuses Israel of the international crime of “forced displacement.” The rules of customary international law prohibit the deportation or forcible transfer of the civilian population of an occupied territory “unless the security of the civilians involved or imperative military reasons so demand.” Evacuation of civilians from an active war zone is not “forced displacement.” Suggesting otherwise is misleading and intended to demonize Israel. Moreover, Israel has not forced any Gazan civilians to evacuate, they have merely issued warnings as to which areas will soon see fighting. The decision of civilians to evacuate thereafter is voluntary.

The warnings are provided by the IDF as a courtesy to civilians, to give them ample time to flee the dangerous area, in the interest of saving innocent lives. These areas have been made dangerous because Hamas embedded its terror operations into civilian infrastructure, so Hamas is entirely to blame for the need for civilians to evacuate.


10. UNRWA Ensures Stability in the Region (@UNLazzarini, December 18, 2023)

UNRWA Tweet: UNRWA’s presence has been pivotal in preventing #Gaza, and the region, from descending into chaos. The high standard of @UNRWA‘s educational system has been widely admired globally.

Undermining @UNRWA undermines international efforts in #Gaza & beyond.

UN Watch Comment: UN Watch recently documented how UNRWA staff celebrated Hamas’s October 7th massacre on Facebook. Since 2015, UN Watch has exposed more than 150 UNRWA staff who posted antisemitism and incitement to jihadi terrorism on Facebook. Our March 2023 report also showed how UNRWA staff routinely incite against Israel in the classroom and encourage impressionable students to follow a path of violence and martyrdom. As it stands, UNRWA’s education derails future prospects for peace by raising another generation of Palestinian children on hate and false dreams. In fact, it is UNRWA that “undermines international efforts in #Gaza & beyond,” by ensuring the perpetuation of the conflict.


11. Gaza Becoming a Graveyard (@UNRWA, December 17, 2023)

UNRWA Tweet: #Gaza is becoming the graveyard of a population trapped between war, siege and deprivation.

UN Watch Comment: This type of exaggerated hyperbole and melodramatic language is intended to generate strong condemnation of Israel. While Gaza is now a war zone, it is not a “graveyard.” Moreover, every civilian casualty in Gaza is the responsibility of Hamas because Hamas’s strategy is to deliberately use Gazan civilians as human shields so that Israeli strikes targeted at Hamas will unavoidably cause civilian casualties, generating international condemnation and diplomatic pressure against IDF operations.


12. 2023 Israel/Hamas War is Worst Humanitarian Crisis in the Region (@UNLazzarini, December 15, 2023)

UNRWA Tweet: Reassured by the decision from the Council of States this morning to keep supporting @UNRWA during one of the worst humanitarian crises in #Gaza and the region.  

Critical that Switzerland expresses its solidarity to the victims of this brutal war.

UN Watch Comment: Without diminishing the seriousness of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, it is far from being “one of the worst humanitarian crises in…the region.” A quick survey of other ongoing conflicts shows this characterization is highly exaggerated. At least 306,000 Syrian civilians have been killed in the Syrian civil war and more than 14 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes. UNHCR describes Yemen as the world’s “worst humanitarian crisis” with 4.5 million people displaced and 21.6 million people “in dire need of humanitarian assistance” as of March 2023. In Iraq, more than 1.2 million people are currently displaced by conflict and 3 million are in need of humanitarian assistance. Moreover, the UN could end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza immediately by demanding Hamas unconditionally surrender and release all hostages.


13. UNRWA Collapse Would be Betrayal of Palestinians (@UNLazzarini, December 13, 2023)

UNRWA Tweet: Told @baysontheroad it is of utmost importance that the members of the @UN General Assembly realise if @UNRWA collapses in #Gaza, the Palestinian community will feel this ad the last betrayal of the International Community.

UN Watch Comment: Actually, by keeping UNRWA alive, the UN betrays the Palestinian people and the long-term prospects for peace in the region. The sole purpose of UNRWA is to perpetuate the conflict by giving Palestinians false hope that they will one day return to homes inside Israel. Thus, it prevents them from settling and developing productive lives where they are—which for more than 2.3 million so-called UNRWA refugees is territory designated for the future state of Palestine, either the West Bank or Gaza.

Moreover, despite its name, UNRWA acts as a welfare agency for the Palestinians, rather than a refugee agency. This encourages a culture of dependency that prevents the Palestinians from taking responsibility for their own future. The UN doesn’t provide long-term healthcare solutions, education, or cash assistance for one of the parties in any other conflict. If the General Assembly genuinely cares for the Palestinians, it should end UNRWA and start demanding accountability from the Palestinian leadership.


14. Israeli Attacks on UN Facilities Violate Laws of War (December 12, 2023)

UNRWA Tweet: Saw videos of an @UNRWA school in northern #Gaza blown up. It is outrageous. All public facilities, including hospitals & @UN schools are protected under international law. Parties to this brutal war have the coordinates of all our facilities in Gaza.

UN Watch Comment: Yes, civilian objects like hospitals and schools should be protected under international law. However, they lose their protection and become valid military objectives “when and for such time” as they are being used for military purposes. UNRWA should direct its outrage at Hamas which has used UNRWA facilities for military purposes, causing them to become valid military targets. With some 10,000 Palestinian Gazans on its payroll, many of whom have ties to Hamas, UNRWA cannot plead ignorance about Hamas misuse of its facilities.

During the current hostilities there have already been reports of Hamas operating from UNRWA schools, including through its tunnel network, weapons depots which have been found in UNRWA crates and in UNRWA sacks, and attacks from inside UNRWA schools. A released Israeli hostage recently testified that while in captivity she witnessed Gazan’s cheering Hamas with shouts of “Allahu Akbar” after it launched rockets at Israel from a school where they were sheltering. By failing to name Hamas, this tweet falsely implies Israeli responsibility for attacks on hospitals and schools even though Hamas is the party that converted them into military objects.


15. “There is nowhere for people to go.” (@UNRWA, December 23, 2023)

UNRWA Tweet: To expand ongoing military operations, Israeli authorities have issued MORE evacuation orders for people in Middle Area of #Gaza to move into areas where there are ongoing airstrikes.

More than 150k people impacted.

There is nowhere for people to go. Nowhere is safe.

UN Watch Comment: “Evacuation orders” from the IDF are merely warnings that the dangerous ground war against Hamas will soon expand into new territory. The warnings are provided by the IDF as a courtesy to civilians, to give them ample time to flee the dangerous area, in the interest of saving innocent lives. These areas have been made dangerous because Hamas embedded its terror operations into civilian infrastructure, so Hamas is entirely to blame for the need for civilians to evacuate.

The tweet also says that there is “nowhere for people to go.” It is true that the expanding battleground within Gaza has created a humanitarian crisis and leaves practically nowhere in Gaza safe for civilians. However, this is true for all war zones. If this were any other conflict zone in the world, the UN’s response would be to assist civilians in fleeing the war zone and finding refuge, either temporary or permanent, in a safe country. When war broke out in Syria, the UN never demanded that Syrian civilians remain in the line of fire. Instead, UNHCR assisted millions of Syrians in seeking refuge in 130 different countries. As of December 2023, there are 1.9 million Syrian refugees registered with UNHCR in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon alone, and 3.7 million Syrian refugees registered in Turkey. 

This begs the question: Why isn’t the UN facilitating a temporary evacuation of Gazan civilians out of the war torn Gaza Strip? For one, Gaza borders Egypt, which has heavily fortified its border and refuses to allow Gazan civilians through. But instead of condemning Egypt for this, the UN has supported Egypt’s position that no Gazan civilians should leave Gaza.

The answer is that the UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, has a mandate to assist and resettle refugee populations of all nationalities in the world except one: Palestinians.

Instead, Palestinians are serviced by UNRWA, which has a different mandate and a different definition for “refugee.” UNRWA’s mandate is explicitly not to resettle Palestinians. Rather, UNRWA holds them in “refugee camps,” which today are simply urban areas in Gaza, for generation after generation.

So when UNRWA says that “there is nowhere for [Gazans] to go,” the reason is because UNRWA’s mandate is keeping them trapped in a war zone.

In order to save Gazan civilians, UN Watch calls on UNHCR to intervene to assist in the temporary evacuation of Gazans, either by land through the Rafah Crossing, or if Egypt refuses to cooperate, then by sea. Israel should provide guarantees to all Gazan civilians evacuated that they will be able to return to Gaza once Hamas has been eliminated. In the long run, UNHCR should assist Palestinians who wish to voluntarily leave UNRWA refugee camps and resettle elsewhere in the world.

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]]> U.S. lauds UN human rights award to supporter of Hamas massacre, ringleader of antisemitic Durban Conference https://unwatch.org/u-s-lauds-un-human-rights-award-to-supporter-of-hamas-massacre-ringleader-of-antisemitic-durban-conference/ Fri, 15 Dec 2023 21:34:20 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=569488 UN Watch expressed alarm that the U.S. today lauded the award of a UN human rights prize to an antisemitic Jordanian group that endorsed the Hamas massacre of October 7th and played a leading role in subverting the 2001 Durban Conference on Racism into an antisemitic hatefest. “It is essential that the U.S. distance itself […]

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]]> UN Watch expressed alarm that the U.S. today lauded the award of a UN human rights prize to an antisemitic Jordanian group that endorsed the Hamas massacre of October 7th and played a leading role in subverting the 2001 Durban Conference on Racism into an antisemitic hatefest.

“It is essential that the U.S. distance itself from the 2023 UN Human Rights Prize award to a NGO that abuses its UN accreditation to support the mass murder of Jews. We respectfully urge you to intervene and condemn Nizam Assaf and ACHRS for fueling antisemitism and for its role in hijacking the 2001 Durban conference,” wrote Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, an independent non-governmental human rights organization based in Geneva, in a letter today to U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. (See below.)

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The Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
799 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017

15 December 2023

 

Dear Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield,

 

We were shocked that you joined in celebrating the award today of the 2023 UN Human Rights Prize to the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS), represented by their director, Dr. Nizam Assaf.

 

In your speech today, you commended all of the awardees, saying that they “worked tirelessly to commit to the principles of the Human Rights Declaration.” In addition, the laudatory statement delivered today on behalf of the United States and other members of the Western European and Others Group not only congratulated Dr. Assaf and ACHRS among other recipients for their “outstanding achievements” but was hagiographical in its praise: “With this recognition you join a small but illustrious group of past honourees, who in many cases have become synonymous with the courage and conviction required to affect change in the world. Today your names will be entered alongside people like Dr. Martin Luther King…”

 

In fact, however, Dr. Assaf is the opposite of Dr. Martin Luther King. He was a ringleader of the antisemitic 2001 Durban Conference, and he and his group ACHRS have frequently disseminated antisemitic tropes. They even publicly celebrated and justified the Hamas October 7th mass murder and rape.

 

Dr. Assaf’s role in subverting the 2001 Durban Conference was documented by the UN’s Laurie Wiseberg, who served as that forum’s NGO Liaison Officer. She wrote that in the planning meetings leading up to Durban, Dr. Assaf promoted the position “there were no problems of racism or racial discrimination in the Middle East apart from Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.” In the February 2001 Networking Meeting of Arab NGOs, in Amman, Jordan, organized by Dr. Assaf’s organization, Wiseberg recorded in her notes that she was “afraid that the whole conference may be at risk by a move to revive the Zionism equals Racism Resolution.” This is indeed what took place in Durban seven months later.

 

Beyond his nefarious role in organizing the subversion of the Durban Conference on Racism, Dr. Assaf and his group have published antisemitic and other statements on social media that should have disqualified him from being honored by the UN.

 

On October 7th, 2023, at 8:30 pm Amman time, right after Hamas terrorists murdered  some 1200 people in Israel, and engaged in mass rape, mutilations and abductions, Dr. Assaf posted on Facebook to celebrate the attack, publishing a quote of Mandela: “We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.” He did not post any condemnation of Hamas’ mass murder and rape.

 

In September 2021, Dr. Assaf tweeted to celebrate the escape of six terrorists, whom he labeled “heroic,” from a prison in Nazareth. He wrote “Oh Zionist, listen, listen, the intifada will return.”

 

In August 2021, in an Arabic post to his Facebook page, he complained that “the Jewish lobby” was helping Morocco’s relations with the United States.

 

Dr. Assaf’s group ACHRS has also put out alarming statements under its own name. On October 18th, 2023, ACHRS published a statement accusing Israel of committing “ethnic genocide” against Palestinians. It provided a “brief historical framework” on the current conflict that is riddled with historical falsehoods, including this: “Once the Zionist Jews rejected Resolution 181, it presented the Israeli Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948, to establish a state of Israel in all of Palestine after the British Mandate expired…. At that moment, Zionist Jews rejected coexistence with Palestinians and Arabs denied the Zionist claim to statehood.”

 

Worse, the ACHRS statement justified the October 7th massacre by Hamas. Under the heading of “The Palestinian Right to Resistance,” the last section states that “the events starting from October 7th 2023 is to be understood as a reaction against the Israeli occupation and oppression that has been going on for more than 70 years. Hamas was nowhere mentioned. On top of it all, the above justification of the October 7th Hamas atrocities was written on letterhead that reads “Honorary of the UN Human Rights Prize 2023.” In other words, today’s UN award is being used by ACHRS to legitimize and launder its open support for Hamas mass murder and rape.

 

Excellency, it is essential that the U.S. distance itself from the 2023 UN Human Rights Prize award to a person and NGO that abuse their UN accreditation to support the mass murder of Jews. We respectfully urge you to intervene and condemn Dr. Assaf and ACHRS for fueling antisemitism and for its role in hijacking the 2001 Durban conference.

 

The UN Human Rights Prize is only awarded once every five years since it was first awarded in 1968 to eminent figures René Cassin and Eleanor Roosevelt. It is a travesty to see the prize fall to such low depths, and it is critical for supporters of democracy and human rights to intervene at this moment.

 

Yours truly,

Hillel C. Neuer
Executive Director

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]]> UPDATED: Latest on Hamas-Israel War https://unwatch.org/on-the-hamas-massacre/ Fri, 15 Dec 2023 03:59:54 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=569433 After the Iranian-sponsored Hamas terrorist group invaded Israeli communities and massacred families, and fired thousands of rockets from Gaza across Israel, UN Watch is refuting misinformation and exposing the apologists of terrorism, while amplifying the voices of democracy, human rights and decency. See below a selection of our posts and interviews. For our November posts, […]

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]]> After the Iranian-sponsored Hamas terrorist group invaded Israeli communities and massacred families, and fired thousands of rockets from Gaza across Israel, UN Watch is refuting misinformation and exposing the apologists of terrorism, while amplifying the voices of democracy, human rights and decency. See below a selection of our posts and interviews.

For our November posts, click here.

For our October posts, click here.

_____

 

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]]> UN Watch on the Hamas-Israel War: November 2023 https://unwatch.org/un-watch-on-the-hamas-israel-war-november-2023/ Fri, 01 Dec 2023 20:10:04 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=566665   After the Iranian-sponsored Hamas terrorist group invaded Israeli communities and massacred families, and fired thousands of rockets from Gaza across Israel, UN Watch is refuting misinformation and exposing the apologists of terrorism, while amplifying the voices of democracy, human rights and decency. See below a selection of our posts and interviews. For our October […]

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]]>  

After the Iranian-sponsored Hamas terrorist group invaded Israeli communities and massacred families, and fired thousands of rockets from Gaza across Israel, UN Watch is refuting misinformation and exposing the apologists of terrorism, while amplifying the voices of democracy, human rights and decency. See below a selection of our posts and interviews.

For our October posts, click here.

_____

The post UN Watch on the Hamas-Israel War: November 2023 appeared first on UN Watch.

]]> Report: U.N. Teachers Celebrated Hamas Massacre https://unwatch.org/report-u-n-teachers-celebrated-hamas-massacre/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 19:40:58 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=567671 Report PDF: UNRWA: Hate Starts Here WASHINGTON, November 6, 2023 — As war wages on between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, a watchdog group is releasing a new report that reveals how UNRWA teachers in the enclave, funded largely by the U.S. and EU, indoctrinate Palestinian children and promote terrorism and antisemitism. Entitled “UNRWA: Hate […]

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]]> Report PDF: UNRWA: Hate Starts Here

WASHINGTON, November 6, 2023 — As war wages on between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, a watchdog group is releasing a new report that reveals how UNRWA teachers in the enclave, funded largely by the U.S. and EU, indoctrinate Palestinian children and promote terrorism and antisemitism.

Entitled “UNRWA: Hate Starts Here,” today’s report uncovers 20 UNRWA teachers and other staff members who celebrated the October 7th Hamas massacre of Israeli civilians on their social media accounts, collected by the non-governmental organization UN Watch, an independent human rights monitoring group based in Geneva.

The new cases are in addition to 133 UNRWA educators and staff who were exposed for promoting hate and violence in UN Watch’s last report, released in March 2023.

UN Watch’s Executive Director Hillel Neuer will be presenting the report on Wednesday before U.S. Congress.

UN Watch today submitted the report to EU foreign affairs commissioner Josep Borrell, and U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, whose governments are among the top funders of UNRWA, as well as to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini.

UN Watch is calling on the agency’s major funders—including the U.S., Germany, the UK and the European Union—to ensure that none of their combined $1.2 billion of donations to UNRWA will fund teachers of hate, and to hold the agency accountable to its own standards and commitments.

Among the educators who used their personal social media channels to propagate hate and celebrate the Hamas terror attack on October 7th:

  • UNRWA Gaza teacher Osama Ahmed posted “Allah is Great, Allah is Great, reality surpasses our wildest dreams” as the massacre was unfolding.
  • UNRWA school principal Iman Hassan justified the massacre as “restoring rights” and “redressing” Palestinian “grievances.”
  • Director of the UNRWA Khan Younis Training Center Rawia Helles, who is featured in and UNRWA campaign, glorified one of the terrorists as a “hero,” “raider,” and “prince of Khan Younis.”
  • UNRWA English teacher Asmaa Raffia Kuheil excitedly posted “7th, October, 2023! Sculpture the date!” adding a heart emoji.
  • UNRWA school administrator Hmada Ahmed posted “welcome the great October.”

 

The report only examined a sample of Facebook users who publicly identified themselves as UNRWA employees, and therefore UN Watch estimates that the number of UNRWA staff who incite violence and hatred includes hundreds if not thousands among the agency’s 30,000 staff.

Western Countries Fund UNRWA’s $1.6 Billion Budget

The teachers of hate at UNRWA are largely funded by Western countries who contribute the lion’s share of UNRWA’s $1.6 billion-dollar budget. Amounts pledged for 2022 included $344 million from the United States, $122 million from Germany, $107 million from the European Commission, $61 million from Sweden, $17 million from the UK, $24 million from Switzerland, $32 million from Norway, $28 million from France, $24 million from Canada, and $15 million from the Netherlands.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad Outraged Over Fired UNRWA Teacher

Following the release in March of a joint report by UN Watch and IMPACT-se, UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini was pressured into ordering his Lebanon director to suspend a teacher for inciting terrorism on social media.

In reaction, Hamas condemned UNRWA for “repressive behavior that contradicts the human right to freedom, thinking and expression.”

The Hamas statement blasted “UNRWA’s reliance on UN Watch” which it said “implements Zionist policies and has hostile stances towards the rights of the Palestinian people.”

The Iranian-sponsored Islamic Jihad also issued a statement denouncing UNRWA.

The move by UNRWA resulted in an uproar in Lebanon, where UNRWA staff pulled students out of school for mass protests and a 3-day strike.

In 2022, UNRWA had suspended six teachers for similar cases of incitement.

Comment by UN Watch  

“We call on the governments that fund UNRWA to declare that they will stop enabling a system that teaches new generations of Palestinians to hate and murder Jews.”

“Let us be clear: the problem is not the social media posts, but rather the unconscionable employment of teachers who preach antisemitism and terrorism.”

“The hate that led to the October 7th massacre did not appear out of thin air. It was inculcated at UNRWA schools over many years. One of the Hamas terrorists who carried out the massacre on Israeli families was even found to be carrying his UNRWA diploma on him as he butchered innocent civilians.”

“The U.S., EU, Germany, UK, Canada and other donor states cannot morally send more money to UNRWA until it shows a genuine commitment to basic norms of education in its schools. This means the agency must publicly condemn UNRWA employees who incite terrorism and antisemitism, remove them from their positions, and create an independent and impartial investigation of all of its staff,” said Neuer.

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]]> image UN Watch on the Hamas-Israel War: October 2023 https://unwatch.org/un-watch-on-the-hamas-israel-war-october-2023/ Wed, 01 Nov 2023 16:46:19 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=568926 October 2023 After the Iranian-sponsored Hamas terrorist group invaded Israeli communities and massacred families, and fired thousands of rockets from Gaza across Israel, UN Watch refuted misinformation and exposed the apologists of terrorism, while amplifying the voices of democracy, human rights and decency. See below a selection of our posts and interviews. _____   Dear […]

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]]> October 2023

After the Iranian-sponsored Hamas terrorist group invaded Israeli communities and massacred families, and fired thousands of rockets from Gaza across Israel, UN Watch refuted misinformation and exposed the apologists of terrorism, while amplifying the voices of democracy, human rights and decency. See below a selection of our posts and interviews.

_____

 

 

Hillel Neuer’s Instagram Live with Los Angeles lawyer and activist Mandana Dayani, in two parts:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cyd45LGgNi9/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CyedbX7PMyt/

Our 10-part thread exposing UNRWA teachers who celebrated the October 7th Hamas massacre of Israeli families:

This is the U.N.’s “human rights” body whose officials are now condemning Israel for defending itself from Hamas terrorists who slaughtered civilians:

This video of Hillel Neuer’s iconic UN speech, posted on Oct. 13th, was watched  1.2 million times over the weekend:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CyULFlQPab_/

 

More UN Watch Tweets about the massacre

https://twitter.com/HillelNeuer/status/1714550778747035806

https://twitter.com/HillelNeuer/status/1711519549550387662

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]]> Hamas stole 36,000 liters of fuel from UN warehouses https://unwatch.org/hamas-stole-36000-liters-of-fuel-from-un-warehouses/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 18:45:56 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=567569 Hamas stole 36,000 litres of fuel from UNRWA warehouses, according to a report from the head of the Palestinian news desk of Israel’s Channel 11 TV channel. The report followed UNRWA’s own announcement that Hamas’ health ministry had taken fuel and medical equipment.   Elior Levi, head of the Palestinian news desk for Israel’s Channel […]

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]]> Hamas stole 36,000 litres of fuel from UNRWA warehouses, according to a report from the head of the Palestinian news desk of Israel’s Channel 11 TV channel. The report followed UNRWA’s own announcement that Hamas’ health ministry had taken fuel and medical equipment.

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Elior Levi, head of the Palestinian news desk for Israel’s Channel 11 TV, Oct. 16, 2023:

“The battle in Gaza now is over diesel fuel. Hamas considers it the new gold and wants to grab it by all means. At midday, UNRWA made an unusual announcement that people claiming to be from the Ministry of Health made them give up diesel fuel that belonged to UNRWA and that would have sufficed for hospitals.

UNRWA didn’t accuse directly Hamas, but issued a condemnation of sorts. We can report that today Hamas stole 36,000 litres of fuel from UNRWA warehouses. That would have lasted a week and a half at the hospitals or the desalination plant. A very large quantity that Hamas has taken hold of.

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]]> Hamas stole 36,000 liters of fuel from UN warehouses - UN Watch Hamas stole 36,000 litres of fuel from UNRWA warehouses, according to a report from the head of the Palestinian news desk of Israel's Channel 11 TV Hamas YouTube player UN staff celebrate Hamas massacre https://unwatch.org/un-staff-celebrate-hamas-massacre/ Mon, 16 Oct 2023 08:45:12 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=566745 While Hamas terrorists were murdering babies in Israel on October 7, killing 1300 Israelis and wounding 3000, UN school teachers, principals and other staff in Gaza were publicly celebrating the massacre, as revealed by UN Watch. See the thread below. For our major reports on incitement to hate and terrorism in UNRWA schools, click here. […]

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]]> While Hamas terrorists were murdering babies in Israel on October 7, killing 1300 Israelis and wounding 3000, UN school teachers, principals and other staff in Gaza were publicly celebrating the massacre, as revealed by UN Watch. See the thread below.

For our major reports on incitement to hate and terrorism in UNRWA schools, click here.

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]]> Report by UN Palestine Monitor is 95% focused on Israel, Ignores Hamas Terrorism https://unwatch.org/report-by-un-palestine-monitor-is-95-focused-on-israel-ignores-hamas-terrorism/ Thu, 25 Nov 2021 12:09:08 +0000 https://unwatch.org/?p=552273 In a bid to appear objective for a change, the UN’s  Palestine monitor included some mention of Palestinian abuses in his latest report to the General Assembly, yet the report is still 95% against Israel and completely ignores Hamas terrorism, revealed UN Watch today. In the nearly six years since Michael Lynk took up his post […]

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]]> In a bid to appear objective for a change, the UN’s  Palestine monitor included some mention of Palestinian abuses in his latest report to the General Assembly, yet the report is still 95% against Israel and completely ignores Hamas terrorism, revealed UN Watch today.

In the nearly six years since Michael Lynk took up his post as the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, he has submitted six reports to the General Assembly and five reports to the Human Rights Council. Until last year, each of Michael Lynk’s reports began with a statement that the report focuses only on alleged Israeli violations citing to his mandate:

“In the present report, the Special Rapporteur focuses on the human rights and humanitarian law violations committed by Israel, as set out in the mandate of the Rapporteur” with a footnoted that reads “As specified in the mandate of the Special Rapporteur set out in Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/2.”

However, apparently under pressure after UN Watch persistently called him out for ignoring Palestinian Authority and Hamas violations against both Palestinians and Israelis, Michael Lynk began including some Palestinian violations in his last three reports to the General Assembly in 2019, 2020 and 2021 and suddenly did way with the above language. Despite this change, the reports are still far from balanced with more than 95% still focusing on harsh criticism of Israel while Hamas terrorism continues to be completely ignored.

Moreover, the fact that Michael Lynk began to include some PA and Hamas violations in his reports belies his earlier claims that the mandate prohibited him from doing so and instead required him to limit his reporting to Israeli violations only.

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