UN Watch investigation finds the agency substituted paperwork and promises for meaningful change

GENEVA, 14 September 2026 — UNRWA’s claim to have completed 41 of the 50 reforms recommended by the landmark Colonna Review substantially overstates the changes achieved on the ground, according to a major new report released today by UN Watch.

The “Report Card on UNRWA Reform” examines UNRWA’s implementation of every recommendation issued by the Independent Review Group led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.

Commissioned by UN Secretary-General António Guterres following revelations that UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 massacre and amid the suspension of $450 million in donor funding, the Colonna Review was intended to determine whether the agency’s neutrality safeguards were “fit for purpose” and to restore donor confidence.

Two years later, UNRWA says that 41 recommendations are completed. Yet UN Watch’s analysis finds that UNRWA frequently measured administrative activity instead of meaningful reform. At most, the new report concludes, 13 of Colonna’s 50 recommendations have actually been completed as prescribed.

“UNRWA has graded its own homework and awarded itself high marks,” said UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer. “But issuing a policy is not the same as enforcing it. Drafting a plan is not the same as implementing it, and closing a recommendation does not mean that the underlying problem has been solved.”

“On paper, UNRWA reports sweeping progress. On the ground, its employees continue to be exposed as members and supporters of terrorist organizations, hateful educational content persists, and Hamas-dominated unions continue to obstruct neutrality and discipline.”

Key Findings

• UNRWA redefined what counts as completion. Under its “Minimum Viable Product” methodology, UNRWA allows itself to classify a recommendation as completed once it considers the recommendation’s “core functional objective” achieved—even where further measures remain necessary and the reform has not been fully institutionalized.
• UNRWA still lacks a demonstrated system for screening its workforce for Hamas membership. Its principal sanctions screening relies on the UN Security Council Consolidated Sanctions List, which does not list Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
• External investigations continue to uncover what UNRWA’s internal systems missed. In June 2026, the USAID Office of Inspector General referred 108 current or former UNRWA personnel for suspension or debarment based on evidence linking them to the October 7 attacks or Hamas’s military wing. Days later, UNRWA dismissed 70 Gaza employees following a security assessment, while insisting that the dismissals did not validate the allegations against them. See also UN Watch’s statement on the dismissals.
• UNRWA closed union reforms that were never implemented. The agency classified revisions to its Staff Union Statute as completed after merely drafting and transmitting a proposed statute, even though the unions had not adopted it. Yet within months of this supposed reform achievement, the UNRWA Gaza Staff Union—still under unchanged leadership—mobilized against the dismissal of the 70 terror-linked employees and demanded their reinstatement. UN Watch’s report Schools in the Grip of Terror documents how Hamas-linked officials continue to dominate UNRWA staff unions.
• One recommendation was closed as “unimplementable.” Recommendation 46 called for outsourcing union pay-setting functions. UNRWA determined that the measure could not be implemented, yet still counted the recommendation as closed.
• Vetting reforms remain dependent on funding. UNRWA closed recommendations concerning commercial screening and the vetting of union officials after developing pilots and costed plans, although the actual systems had not been fully deployed.
• Educational reform is measured by procedures rather than content. UNRWA cites reviews, digital platforms, teacher training and engagement with UNESCO as evidence of progress, while post-Colonna assessments by IMPACT-se continue to identify antisemitism, glorification of terrorism and incitement in the 2025–2026 Palestinian Authority curriculum used in UNRWA schools.
• Training cannot prevent deliberate military misuse of UNRWA facilities. The Colonna Review acknowledged that UNRWA lacks the policing, military and investigative capabilities required to detect weapons, tunnels and military activity at its installations. New policies and awareness programs do not remedy this fundamental incapacity. The standard inspection regime still does not operate normally in Gaza, where the most serious allegations have arisen.
• UNRWA declared a “cultural shift” completed while describing it as ongoing. The agency classified all recommendations on enhanced cooperation as complete even as its own reporting acknowledged that the required institutional transformation remained underway.

Structural Failure, Not a Paperwork Problem

The report finds that many of the Colonna recommendations proposed potentially useful administrative improvements. However, they did not adequately address the deeper institutional causes of UNRWA’s neutrality crisis: terrorist infiltration among personnel, Hamas influence over staff unions and schools, the agency’s inability to investigate clandestine affiliations, and an institutional culture deeply embedded in the Palestinian political struggle against Israel.

“The central question is not how many policies UNRWA has written, training sessions it has conducted or recommendations it has marked complete,” Neuer said. “The question is whether UNRWA can prevent its schools, staff and facilities from serving terrorism and incitement. The evidence examined in this report shows that it cannot.”

“The Colonna process was designed to reassure donors. Our report tests that reassurance against the evidence—and finds a profound gap between reform claimed and reform achieved.”

UN Watch called on donor governments not to rely on UNRWA’s self-reported completion figures when deciding whether to resume or continue funding. Governments should require independent verification of each claimed reform and assess whether it has produced measurable changes in staff conduct, educational content, union activity and the protection of UN facilities.

“Donor states were promised reform,” Neuer said. “Instead of delivering proof of results, UNRWA offers policies on paper, pilot projects awaiting funding, or recommendations closed by administrative decree.”

The report concludes that UNRWA’s failures cannot be repaired through managerial adjustments. Its mandate, workforce and role in Palestinian society are inseparable from a political project that perpetuates refugee status, the claimed “right of return” and rejection of Israel. UNRWA employs more than 28,000 people, overwhelmingly locally recruited Palestinians, while only about 120 staff are international.

“The Colonna reforms cannot make politically neutral an institution whose fundamental structure and purpose sustain the grievances and ideology exploited by Hamas,” said Neuer. “Humanitarian assistance for needy Gazans must continue, but it should be delivered through institutions capable of operating independently of terrorism and the political perpetuation of the conflict.”

The Report

The full report, Report Card on UNRWA Reform: An Evaluation of the Agency’s Claims Against the Evidence on Implementation of the Colonna Report, is available here.  Related UN Watch resources include the UNRWA Terror Network and Schools in the Grip of Terror.

About UN Watch

UN Watch is a Geneva-based independent human rights organization accredited in special consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Founded in 1993, UN Watch monitors the performance of the United Nations according to the principles of its Charter and advocates for victims of human rights abuses worldwide.

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Click Here for the Full Report

Executive Summary

“Most people who are engaged in underground organizations try not to have their involvement known publicly,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, when asked why the UN employed for decades a Hamas terror chief who oversaw 2,000 teachers at UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Yet this report reveals that the opposite is true: Hamas terror chiefs held top positions within UNRWA’s educational system despite publicly and repeatedly flaunting their support for and ties to Hamas and terrorism. UNRWA knew — and did nothing. The UN agency that raises more than $1 billion annually from Western states with the promise to educate Palestinian children with values such as peace, tolerance, and universal human rights, instead has handed
them over to the very operatives who recruit child soldiers, glorify suicide bombers, and preach the annihilation of a UN member state.

By knowingly employing Hamas terrorist leaders as school principals and teachers, and by allowing terror chiefs to head the unions that oversee thousands of their teachers, UNRWA didn’t just tolerate extremism — the Western-funded UN agency institutionalized it, turning classrooms into incubators of hate.

Over its 75 years of existence, UNRWA has churned out thousands of jihadi terrorists. Some of the most infamous include the perpetrators of the 1972 Munich Massacre, or Mohammed Deif, the now-deceased commander of Hamas’s Al-Qassam Brigades, one of the masterminds of the October 7th atrocities in Israel. This in itself should raise alarm bells for any donor that supports UNRWA out of genuine humanitarian concerns.

How is it that a so-called UN humanitarian agency has a track record for producing so many terrorists? This report tells the story of how Hamas took over the UNRWA staff unions that oversee thousands of teachers and school principals, and hijacked the agency’s entire education system.

As we established in our previous report, The Unholy Alliance: UNRWA, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, UNRWA’s operations on the ground are actually controlled by its local leaders, and not by the tiny handful of international staff such as Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, who serves only as the public face, fundraiser, and advocate for UNRWA. Many of these local leaders, especially in Gaza and Lebanon, are Hamas members or leaders, while thousands of UNRWA’s local employees are also active Hamas members. To put this in perspective, more than 99% of UNRWA’s 30,000 employees are area staff — local Palestinian Arabs —while only 120 employees at the agency are international staff, funded by the United Nations in New York. The Palestinian Arab local staff are the people who run all of UNRWA’s services, including its education system.

This is exemplified by the contrast in how UNRWA in Gaza dealt with the cases of Matthias Schmale, a senior member of UNRWA’s international staff who headed the agency’s Gaza operation, and Suhail Al-Hindi, a senior Hamas official and former UNRWA union leader.

In May 2021, it took less than ten days for UNRWA’s local leaders — Amir Al-Mishal, then head of the UNRWA Gaza Staff Union, working together with his predecessor Suhail Al-Hindi — to get Matthias Schmale expelled from Gaza after he had appeared to make one remark supporting Israel in a media interview.

Yet, when Suhail Al-Hindi was publicly appearing with Hamas terrorist leaders for many years — while he was serving as an UNRWA school principal and as head of the UNRWA Gaza Staff Union — UNRWA failed to fire him. Moreover, after UNRWA temporarily suspended Al-Hindi in 2011 and Hamas orchestrated mass protests paralyzing UNRWA’s services in Gaza, Al-Hindi successfully pressured UNRWA’s top international management to agree not to discipline staff for “external activities” —i.e., involvement with Hamas terror chiefs, the activities of which he had been accused.

Similarly, in Lebanon, UNRWA management failed to fire Fateh Sharif who had served for years simultaneously as the head of the UNRWA Lebanon Teachers’ Union and as a senior leader of Hamas in Lebanon. Furthermore, recognizing that she has no control over the local staff, UNRWA Lebanon Director Dorothee Klaus departed Lebanon for her own safety on the day that UNRWA announced that it had suspended five of Sharif’s UNRWA Lebanon Teachers’ Union associates for neutrality violations related to their Hamas activity.

UNRWA’s local leaders, like Al-Hindi and Al-Mishal in Gaza and Sharif and his colleagues in Lebanon view UNRWA as a political tool which “serves as an international witness to [Palestinian refugees’] displacement,” and a “right for the Palestinians until they return to Palestine,” i.e., until they undo the imagined injustice of Israel’s 1948 creation and replace it with a Palestinian state. At a December 2018 lecture about UNRWA, Al-Hindi himself said that UNRWA’s activities and services have “a very significant and positive impact” on the Palestinian people and on ensuring that “the Palestinian right of return remains intact.” Thus,
UNRWA’s local employees, represented by their staff unions, completely reject the very notion of neutrality as an attack on “Palestinian identity” and a form of “political blackmail” by the international staff, to silence their incitement against Israel in order to appease donor states.

When UNRWA’s international representatives like Philippe Lazzarini and Pierre Krähenbühl state that UNRWA’s role is to “act as a witness” to the “plight” or “injustice” of Palestinian refugees and insist that they will “defend” this aspect of UNRWA’s mandate, they do so to placate these local leaders — the ones who truly
control UNRWA’s operations on the ground. Adam Bouloukos, UNRWA’s Director of Affairs in the West Bank, acknowledged in an April 2024 interview with the Washington Post that UNRWA is “never able to de-link service provision from the right of return.”

Thus, it is UNRWA’s local Palestinian leadership who are calling the shots — people like Al-Hindi and Al-Mishal in Gaza, and Sharif and his colleagues in Lebanon — and not the other way around. If they reject the notion of UN neutrality, then UNRWA’s international leaders can have “the most robust neutrality mechanisms of any similar organization” — as Lazzarini likes to say — but they will never be able to implement these mechanisms on the ground.

Following the scandal over a 3,000-member UNRWA staff Telegram chat group that cheered the October 7th atrocities, exposed by UN Watch in January 2024, the UN created an “independent review” headed by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna “to assess whether UNRWA is doing everything within
its power to ensure neutrality and respond to allegations of serious neutrality breaches when they are made. The Colonna report, published on April 20, 2024, was extremely biased in favor of UNRWA and its staff, and was openly described by UNRWA officials as being designed to “reassure” the donor states — not to actually
expose wrongdoing.

Yet even the biased Colonna report expressly recognized that UNRWA staff unions are “politicized.” The report found that “over the years, political factions have used UNRWA’s staff unions to pressure the agency’s leadership and influence decisions on service delivery or project implementation” and that “the politicization
of staff unions is considered one of the most sensitive neutrality issues and needs to be addressed.” Nevertheless, as of August 2025, UNRWA had not completed implementation of a single Colonna recommendation related to the neutrality of staff unions.

The case studies in this report confirm the Colonna findings, highlighting UNRWA’s inability to enforce neutrality in both Gaza and Lebanon where senior UNRWA educators — Suhail Al-Hindi in Gaza and Fateh Sharif in Lebanon — simultaneously served as UNRWA school principals, heads of the local UNRWA staff
unions, and Hamas terror chiefs. Likewise, this report reveals that their associates and successors at the respective UNRWA staff unions in Gaza and Lebanon are also Hamas terrorists. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh himself had praised the Palestinian unions for their “role in the path of jihad.”

These case studies show in detail how Hamas has hijacked UNRWA’s education through its domination of the local UNRWA staff unions, particularly the teachers’ sectors of the unions, enabling Hamas to control UNRWA schools — the physical facilities, teachers, and curriculum — including by preventing the agency from implementing changes to de-radicalize the curriculum, blocking efforts by UNRWA to discipline staff for inciting antisemitism and jihadi terrorism, and placing Hamas operatives in senior educator positions in schools.

This fact that Hamas infiltrated UNRWA’s senior educator positions is corroborated by Israeli intelligence findings, based on Hamas membership lists and other documents found in Gaza, showing that over 15% of UNRWA’s senior educators in Gaza, in 60 UNRWA institutions, are members of the Hamas and Palestinian
Islamic Jihad terrorist groups.

As detailed in this report, following are some of the examples of how Hamas-controlled UNRWA staff unions, together with their former members who went on to overtly serve as senior Hamas leaders, repeatedly challenged or overturned decisions by UNRWA’s international leadership.

April 2011: UNRWA Gaza Staff Union headed by Suhail Al-Hindi vehemently opposed UNRWA management plan to introduce Holocaust education in schools. At his retirement party in April 2017, Al-Hindi was praised for successfully objecting to Holocaust education.

September to December 2011: After UNRWA suspended Al-Hindi for participating in events alongside Hamas leaders, Al-Hindi led three months of paralyzing protests at the end of which he was reinstated, and UNRWA agreed not to discipline employees for “external activities,” i.e., the type of Hamas activities Al-Hindi engaged in.

January to February 2017: UNRWA Spokesman Chris Gunness said that UNRWA is “tackling neutrality head on,” touted a new employee training, and promised to discipline employees. Al-Hindi and his UNRWA Gaza Staff Union vehemently objected, stating that “UNRWA’s laws and neutrality will not come at the expense of employees’ patriotism and Palestinian identity,” and UNRWA employees refuse to participate in trainings.

July to October 2018: Al-Hindi and Amir Al-Mishal, as heads of their respective unions, coordinated massive strikes against UNRWA over its firing of 1,000 contract workers due to funding cuts. The strikes, fully backed by Hamas, directly threatened UNRWA and shut down the UNRWA Gaza headquarters. In August, Matthias Schmale complained to the press, stating “I am the captain of the ship and I have 13,000 sailors, and they removed me from my command and confined me to the captain’s room.” By early October, most of UNRWA’s international staff were evacuated for their safety. The dispute was ultimately resolved in November 2018 and Arab states increased their funding to UNRWA shortly thereafter.

May 2021: Al-Mishal, as head of the UNRWA Gaza Staff Union, successfully pressured UNRWA to reinstate 27 employees that had been dismissed.

May 2021: In a TV interview, UNRWA Gaza Director Matthias Schmale acknowledged that Israeli missile strikes against Hamas in Gaza were “very precise.” Immediately, Al-Hindi accused Schmale of committing “a great sin” that he “must atone for.” Al-Mishal, as head of the UNRWA Gaza Staff Union, led mass protests against Schmale, demanding his resignation. A few days later, Hamas successfully expelled Schmale from Gaza.

February 2023: The Professional Unions Association, headed by Al-Hindi, instigated UNRWA teachers to join a strike “in solidarity with the righteous martyrs of Nablus.” Although UNRWA management refused to authorize the strike, it appears that UNRWA teachers defied this decision and joined anyway.

March 2023: Senior Hamas member and former UNRWA Gaza Staff Union leader Issam Al-Daalis facilitated UNRWA’s hiring of Hamas government teachers who had resigned in order to work for UNRWA.

March to June 2023: Hamas official Al-Daalis intervened with UNRWA’s Gaza Director Thomas White to resolve an UNRWA dispute with the Contractors Union.

April 2023: Under Al-Mishal, the UNRWA Gaza Staff Union rejected UNRWA management demands to implement a women’s membership quota in the union.

March to September 2024: In wake of paralyzing UNRWA protests in Lebanon in support of Fateh Sharif, the Hamas terror chief and head of the UNRWA Lebanon Teachers’ Union, UNRWA decided only to suspend but not to fire him. In late May 2024, after UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini flew into Lebanon and met with a coalition of terrorist groups in order to resolve the dispute, local Palestinian media reported that the matter was resolved positively for Sharif. UNRWA later insisted that Sharif was suspended and placed under investigation for months. Yet in spite of having all of the evidence of his terror ties, UNRWA never fired him.

October 2024 to March 2025: UNRWA suspended five of Sharif’s associates in the UNRWA Lebanon Teachers’ Union. This prompted the usual fierce opposition and protests from UNRWA staff. Despite clear and compelling evidence of their ties to and support for terrorism, it took nearly a year for UNRWA to fire them.

Click Here for the Full Report

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The report shows how UNRWA’s international officials, and its senior local managers, routinely meet with terrorist groups in Lebanon and Gaza, mutually praise each other for “cooperation,” and describe each other as “partners.”

The terrorist groups frequently make demands of UNRWA and influence its decisions. Moreover, when the terrorists oppose specific actions by UNRWA—such as the introduction of biometric IDs for beneficiaries of UNRWA financial assistance, an ethics code affirming LGBT rights, or suspension of employees for promoting terrorism—the terrorist groups are often able to foil implementation, including by issuing threats.

Through uncovered photographic evidence, the report exposes the close relationship top UNRWA officials have with designated terrorist organizations. Current and former UNRWA officials with terrorist ties included in the report are:

• UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini (2019-present)
• UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl (2014-2019)
• UNRWA Director-General in Lebanon Dorothee Klaus (2023-present)
• UNRWA Director-General in Lebanon Claudio Cordone (2017-2022)
• UNRWA Deputy Director of Programs in Lebanon Gwyn Lewis (2015-2018)
• UNRWA Director-General in Lebanon and Director of Operations in Gaza Matthias Schmale (2015-2021)
• UNRWA Director-General in Lebanon Hakam Shahwan (2016-2017)
• UNRWA Gaza Director Thomas White (2021-2024)
• Acting UNRWA Director-General in Lebanon Munir Manna (2023)
• UNRWA Director-General in Lebanon Anne Dismorr (2012–2015)
• UNRWA Deputy Commissioner-General Leni Stenseth (2020–2023)
• Numerous UNRWA Regional Directors in Lebanon

Read Full Report

Executive Summary

This report reveals how UNRWA, despite its claims to be a humanitarian agency, has forged an unholy alliance with Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist organizations. This secret relationship allows the terrorist organizations to significantly influence the policies and practices of a UN agency with 30,000 employees, and a $1.5 billion annual budget that is funded primarily by Western states.

The report shows how UNRWA’s international officials, and its senior local managers, routinely meet with terrorist groups in Lebanon and Gaza, mutually praise each other for “cooperation,” and describe each other as “partners.”

The terrorist groups frequently make demands of UNRWA and influence its decisions. Moreover, when the terrorists oppose specific actions by UNRWA— such as the introduction of biometric IDs for beneficiaries of UNRWA financial assistance, an ethics code affirming LGBT rights, or suspension of employees for promoting terrorism—the terrorist groups are often able to foil implementation, including by issuing threats.

Examples of the UNRWA-Terrorist Alliance

Examples of the UNRWA-terrorist alliance, documented in the report below with 68 photos obtained from open sources, include:

• UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini made a deal with Jihadi terrorist groups, at a Beirut meeting in May 2024, by which UNRWA allowed Hamas leader Fathi Al-Sharif to remain as principal of a major UNRWA school, and as the head of the UNRWA Teachers Union. For years, Al-Sharif had openly glorified Hamas terrorist attacks, including on his Facebook page, and published photos of his fraternization with heads of terrorist organizations. Contrary to its claims of robust neutrality mechanisms, UNRWA for years allowed Al-Sharif to occupy a senior position overseeing thousands of UNRWA teachers and students. Only when a formal complaint was made to UNRWA by a government, in early 2024, did the agency give Al-Sharif a slap on the wrist by suspending him. Immediately, Hamas and other terrorist groups responded by effectively shutting down UNRWA in Lebanon, mobilizing massive protests by UNRWA teachers and students. Three months into the shutdown, Lazzarini flew to Beirut and met with the alliance of terrorist organizations who were behind the strike. Local media reported on June 1, 2024 that Lazzarini and the terrorist groups reached “understandings” that would lead to a “positive” result for Al-Sharif, and the strike was called off. On September 30, 2024, Al-Sharif was eliminated by an IDF missile. Hamas announced that indeed he had been their leader in Lebanon, and eulogized the senior UNRWA figure for his “Jihadi education.”

• Former UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl met with terrorist leaders from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in February 2017, where he emphasized the “spirit of partnership” between them and UNRWA. He invited the terrorist leaders to privately challenge any UNRWA decision which he could then change or “tear up.” The head of UNRWA urged the Jihadi terrorist groups to ensure that their “discussions not be made public” so as to avoid harm to UNRWA’s “credibility.” Mr. Krahenbuhl, who was forced to leave UNRWA in 2019 due to a corruption and sexual abuse scandal, was this year absurdly appointed to head the International Red Cross, prompting a sharp protest by 17 members of the United States Senate.

• Likewise, in June 2022, current UNRWA chief Lazzarini stressed the importance of “partnership” with Gaza terrorist groups. He met regularly with Gaza terrorist groups under the umbrella of the “Joint Refugee Committee,” which is headed by Mahmoud Khalaf, a member of the central committee of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), designated as a terorrist organization by the United States and the European Union.

• Matthias Schmale, the former UNRWA director in Lebanon, addressed a Hamas rally in August 2018 alongside Ali Baraka, one of six Hamas terrorist leaders indicted in September by the US Department of Justice, as the latter told the crowd that donor states must support UNRWA “until we return to Palestine.” Schmale thanked the terrorist groups “for their understanding” and reassured them that UNRWA is on their side. In October 2020, now serving as UNRWA Director in Gaza, Schmale met with the Joint Refugee Committee headed by DFLP official Mahmoud Khalaf, to discuss “the problem of forcibly dismissed employees.” In numerous such cases, local UNRWA staff suspended for links to terrorism were reinstated under pressure by the terrorist groups.

• Former Deputy Commissioner-General Leni Stenseth personally went to Gaza, in June 2021, to kowtow before Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas terror chief who masterminded the October 7^th massacre. Hamas had been angry with UNRWA after its then Gaza Director Matthias Schmale, an ardent supporter of the Palestinian narrative, unwittingly admitted in a TV interview that Israeli strikes on Hamas, during the May 2021 war, were “very precise.” The interview was widely shared by supporters of Israel. Outraged, Hamas declared Schmale a persona non grata, and orchestrated mob protests to threaten him. Stenseth obediently removed Schmale from his post, throwing him under the bus to appease Sinwar, and called Schmale’s interview “indefensible.” She went to visit Sinwar in Gaza to personally thank him “for his positivity and desire to continue cooperation in facilitating the agency’s work in the Gaza Strip.” Stenseth is now Director-General of the foreign ministry of Norway, UNRWA’s most ardent state supporter. Stenseth uses her current position to fund groups that lobby for UNRWA, such as the Chr. Michelsen Institute, which was unethically chosen to conduct the “independent review” of UNRWA led by Catherine Colonna.

• UNRWA Lebanon Director Dorothee Klaus shared a stage with the leader of Hamas in Lebanon, Fathi Al-Sharif, was as noted above was also an UNRWA school principal and head of the UNRWA Teachers Union. At the event, before a cheering crowd, Al-Sharif proclaimed his support for “the resistance.” Ms. Klaus did not object.

• UNRWA managers have participated at an annual Hamas conference which discusses internal UNRWA affairs such as employee vacancies and UNRWA Teachers Union elections. At the 2021 conference, Hamas offiical Ahmad Abd Al-Hadi announced the launching of a joint committee to “supervise the relationship with UNRWA and ensure it implements its obligations.”

• In February 2018, UNRWA Program Director in Lebanon Gwyn Lewis met with Hamas official Ahmad Fadl, and they agreed on “ongoing cooperation and coordination.”

• UNRWA regional directors routinely meet with local terrorist leaders for “cooperation and coordination.” At a November 2017 meeting, they told UNRWA’s Sidon Director Fawzi Kassab that UNRWA must exist until Palestinian refugees “return to their homes” and threatened that if donors do not continue funding UNRWA, the Palestinians will start a “popular revolution.”

• In February 2022, UNRWA Lebanon Director Claudio Cordone, the former acting chief of Amnesty International, visited Ain Al-Hilweh camp to meet with a coalition of terrorist groups, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Ansar Allah. The terrorists told Cordone that the Palestinian issue in Lebanon is “a political issue and cannot be reduced to a humanitarian or security issue.” Likewise, in January 2018, Cordone met with Hamas official Ahmad Abd al-Hadi who affirmed that the terrorists support UNRWA because it “remains a living witness to the 1948 Nakba.” Contrary to what the world is told, UNRWA’s main purpose is not humanitarian aid, but rather to promote the narrative that Israel’s creation was an “injustice” and that the Palestinians will one day dismantle Israel.

• In February 2017, UNRWA Lebanon Director Hakam Shahwan told terrorist leaders that UNRWA was “fully prepared” to have “a strong partnership mechanism” with them, so long as the partnership should not reach a stage “where some believe that we are partners in decision-making.”

Conclusion

This report reveals how UNRWA’s senior management not only knowingly employ individuals tied to Hamas terrorism, but also allow the terrorist groups to influence critical agency decisions and policies.

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I. Despite Promising to Implement Colonna Reforms, UNRWA in Gross Violation of Neutrality Obligations

As documented below, UNRWA is in gross breach of the neutrality commitments that it recently made to donor countries in order for them to reinstate funding, including the agency’s promise to implement all of the findings of the April 2024 Colonna Report. Dutch aid minister Liesje Schreinemacher told parliament in April that the Netherlands would not renew funding to UNRWA unless it implements the Colonna Report’s recommendations. In light of UNRWA’s handling of the al-Sharif case, which is documented below, we urge the Netherlands not to resume funding to UNRWA. 

Despite UNRWA knowing for more than a decade that the head of its teachers union in Lebanon, Fathi al-Sharif (a.k.a. Fateh “Abo Amin” al-Sharif), overseeing 39,000 students in 65 schools, is part of Hamas and an overt promoter of terrorism, the agency is refusing to fire him. 

UNRWA chief Lazzarini initiated an external review of UNRWA in mid-January 2024 in response to revelations about the agency’s terror ties, including a 3,000-member UNRWA staff Telegram group and the participation of at least 12 UNRWA employees in the October 7 Hamas attack. The mandate of that review, headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, was to “conduct an independent review of mechanisms and procedures to ensure adherence by UNRWA to the humanitarian principle of neutrality.” The Colonna Review Group published its final report, containing 50 separate recommendations, on April 20, 2024. This was immediately followed by a commitment from UNRWA to implement the report, and a cascade of donors agreeing to renew funding.

Separate and apart from UNRWA’s commitments under the Colonna Report, UNRWA is also bound by UN & UNRWA staff regulations on neutrality (See Colonna Report p. 18), the UNRWA Code of Ethics (newly updated in February 2024), and commitments to other donors. Both UN and UNRWA regulations require staff to “avoid any action and in particular any kind of public pronouncement which may adversely reflect on their status, or on the integrity, independence and impartiality which are required by that status.” The Code of Ethics further explains that UNRWA employees should “not take sides in situations of armed conflict, public controversies or other political, racial, religious, or ideological disputes.” The Code of Ethics is also clear that “attending demonstrations … that are political or could become politicized” or “displaying controversial flags or symbols, or holding political meetings or religious services in UNRWA installations” all constitute neutrality breaches.

Regarding specific donor commitments, we note that when the European Commission announced on March 1 that it would allocate an additional 68 Million Euro to UNRWA, it highlighted UNRWA’s commitments to (1) review its staff to make sure they did not participate in October 7, (2) launch an audit by EU appointed external experts to review UNRWA controls to prevent involvement of staff in terrorist activities, and (3) strengthen its department of internal investigations. It also welcomed the Colonna review which would “assess whether the Agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and respond to allegations of serious breaches.”

Likewise, even though the U.S. funding freeze has been extended until March 2025, $121 million had already been transferred to UNRWA by the end of January 2024, and UNRWA is still bound by its commitments in its 2023-24 Framework Agreement with the U.S. These include, (1) addressing neutrality violations in line with UNRWA’s neutrality framework, including prompt and transparent disciplinary proceedings for staff violations, (2) ensuring U.S. assistance is not used to aid a refugee “who is receiving military training as a member of the so-called Palestinian Liberation Army, or any guerilla-type organization or anyone who has engaged in any act of terrorism,” and (3) to ensure that U.S. funding “does not provide assistance to, or otherwise support, terrorists or terrorist organizations.”

UNRWA’s handling of the Al-Sharif case breaches all of these obligations and commitments.

1. Staff union politicization & support for Hamas. The Colonna report expressly found that UNRWA staff unions are “politicized” and “have sometimes resisted management disciplinary actions, including on neutrality” (p. 32). This is clear from past cases where the staff unions rallied behind teachers who had been suspended for neutrality violations connected to terrorism. In 2011, when UNRWA principal/Hamas member Suhail al-Hindi was suspended for his Hamas activities, the Gaza staff union protested for three months until al-Hindi returned to work. The next year, al-Hindi was elected head of that staff union. Indeed, Hamas has controlled the UNRWA Gaza staff union for years. In 2023, when teacher Riad Nimr was suspended for posting support for terrorism on Facebook, the Lebanon staff union orchestrated three weeks of protests until Nimr was returned to work. The same politicization marks the months of protests on behalf of Fateh al-Sharif who heads the UNRWA Lebanon staff union, is a principal in the UNRWA Deir Yassin school, and is also an active member of Hamas. Like with Suhail al-Hindi and Riad Nimr, the UNRWA Lebanon staff union led more than two months of protests, including school strikes across Lebanon, forced UNRWA’s Beirut headquarters to shutdown, and threatened UNRWA’s Lebanon Director Dorothy Klaus, accusing her of blackmailing al-Sharif, until UNRWA Chief Phillipe Lazzarini finally caved to the pressure. Clearly UNRWA has not dealt with the issue of politicization among its staff unions.

2. Hamas-linked unions threaten management. The Colonna report also found that UNRWA’s staff unions have used “intimidation tactics and threats” to force “numerous UNRWA directors to be transferred to different positions and contexts for their own security” (p. 32). As detailed below, in the context of the Al-Sharif rallies, the Lebanon teachers’ union issued a statement that UNRWA Lebanon Director Dorothy Klaus was “playing with fire,” accused her of “blackmail,” and created a large banner depicting Klaus with a big red X on her face which was displayed behind al-Sharif when he addressed one of the rallies. The Al-Sharif protests were also backed by a coalition of terrorists which likewise threatened UNRWA, accusing Klaus of doing Israel’s bidding, and saying she had crossed “all red lines” and was “ignit[ing] fire with [her] own hands to destroy UNRWA.” As in the past, UNRWA allowed itself to be threatened and succumbed to the pressure. Lazzarini even met and negotiated with the terrorists. The Al-Sharif case shows that nothing has changed at UNRWA in this regard.

3. Gross violation of neutrality obligations under UN & UNRWA Regulations and ethics code. While UNRWA did suspend al-Sharif in February 2024, al-Sharif’s current status is unclear. The reports discussed below indicate that UNRWA suspended al-Sharif and asked for his resignation, but that he refused. According to the Palestinian Refugees Portal website, Lazzarini agreed to cancel the suspension in exchange for ending the UNRWA strike that was paralyzing UNRWA’s operations in Lebanon. The Colonna Report recommended UNRWA to “strengthen disciplinary processes across the agency” (p. 24). UNRWA’s handling of the al-Sharif case reflects the opposite.

As detailed below, the evidence is overwhelming that al-Sharif and his UNRWA colleagues in Lebanon grossly breached their neutrality obligations and that al-Sharif should have been fired long ago. 

• • Al-Sharif is a member of Hamas. As shown below, Al-Sharif has attended Hamas events, rallies, and funerals, always appearing near the Hamas leadership. Key Hamas leaders attended his son’s wedding, including Ahmad Abd Al-Hadi who just told a Lebanese newspaper that if Hamas could go back in time, it would still commit the October 7 attack. It is not accidental that a person like al-Sharif who is closely associated with Hamas heads the UNRWA Lebanon teachers’ union. This is exactly the same modus operandi seen with Suhail al-Hindi in Gaza in 2011-12. This alone constitutes a breach of neutrality.
• • Al-Sharif openly supports terrorism on Facebook. A quick glance at Al-Sharif’s Facebook page, which has 4,000 friends, shows that he openly supports Hamas and other terrorist groups in breach of UN & UNRWA regulations and the UNRWA Code of Ethics. For example, on October 7, al-Sharif praised the Hamas attacks, proclaiming “God is the greatest, God is the greatest…”  On July 2, 2019, he praised Hamas leader Hassan Youssef as a “firm leader,” adding “we are all proud of you.” On November 21, 2021, he celebrated Hamas terrorist Fadi Abu Shkhidem with the words “our blood creates victory” after Abu Shkhidem was killed carrying out a terrorist attack that killed one and injured four. On November 23, 2023, Al-Sharif also endorsed Hamas’s hostage-taking as a strategy to get convicted Palestinian terrorists released from Israeli jails. These are just some examples of many.
• • Organizes politicized student protests on UNRWA premises. As detailed below, Al-Sharif proudly boasts on Facebook about the many political rallies he organized for his students in UNRWA camps and facilities, including within school grounds, clearly violating UNRWA’s Code of Ethics. At one of these rallies, a student is seen holding a Hamas flag. 
• • UNRWA knew about al-Sharif’s terror support for years but took no action. Al-Sharif’s 4,000 Facebook friends include many UNRWA teachers. As shown below, his posts supporting Hamas are often liked by his UNRWA teacher friends. A February 28, 2015 post endorsing violent resistance as “an honor” was liked by several UNRWA employees. Likewise, his July 2, 2019 post praising Hamas leader Hassam Youssef was also liked by several UNRWA employees. As far back as 2013, al-Sharif had endorsed the kidnapping and murder of an Israeli soldier, writing “resistance” “by all means” is “our right.” Al-Sharif’s support for, and association with, Hamas was no secret. Everyone at UNRWA knew about this. 
• • Instead of Firing al-Sharif, UNRWA awarded al-Sharif a Certificate of Excellence. Yet, not only did UNRWA take no action against al-Sharif, it awarded him with a Certificate of Excellence in October 2019. 
• • Other UNRWA Lebanon employees are in gross breach of neutrality. Aside from al-Sharif, many other UNRWA Lebanon employees have been implicated in neutrality violations and should be investigated and disciplined. At a minimum, these include all of the UNRWA employees that clicked like on al-Sharif’s hateful Facebook posts and all of the UNRWA Lebanon employees – some 2,000 – that have been participating in the strikes in support of al-Sharif, shutting down UNRWA services, and demanding that al-Sharif be reinstated. 

4. Breach of commitment to EU in exchange for funding. When the EU announced 68 million Euros of funding to UNRWA on March 1, it specifically commended the fact that the Colonna Review was going to “assess whether the Agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and respond to allegations of serious breaches.” However, the Al-Sharif case shows that UNRWA is not doing everything in its power to ensure neutrality, as Hamas-member al-Sharif appears to still be employed by UNRWA and to head the UNRWA Lebanon teachers’ union. 

5. Gross violations of commitments to U.S. UNRWA received $121 million from the U.S. in 2024. Pursuant to UNRWA’s framework for cooperation agreement with the U.S., UNRWA must conduct prompt and transparent disciplinary proceedings for staff violations. The proceedings against al-Sharif have been neither prompt nor transparent, as UNRWA has refused to publicly clarify al-Sharif’s current employment status. Moreover, UNRWA is to ensure that funding does not go to support any refugee who has received military training from a terrorist organization, or to support terrorism. Not enough is known about al-Sharif’s Hamas activities to ascertain whether these provisions have been breached, but UNRWA should be conducting a full investigation about al-Sharif’s Hamas ties and activities and publicize its findings. 

II. Dorothy Klaus Suspends Al-Sharif For Colonna Review, But Refuses to Fire Him

In the wake of October 7th, UNRWA premises in Lebanon experienced months of political protests and fundraising campaigns related to the war in Gaza at the behest of the UNRWA Teachers Staff Union. This included organizing a “national open day” at all UNRWA schools where students and teachers were required to “wear the Palestinian Kofiya, wear black clothes and raise the Palestinian flag,” and shed “light on the right of our people to resist the occupier according to a planned program, calling on the student forces and parents of students to organize angry demonstrations that go round the streets of camps and cheer for Palestine, Aqsa, prisoners and martyrs.” Protests like these continued unchecked for months, in clear violation of UNRWA neutrality rules, and paralyzed the UNRWA school system in Lebanon.  UNRWA took action only in February 2024 because of the public scrutiny it was facing after its largest donors had suspended funding over severe neutrality breaches by UNRWA staff and the Lazzarini appointed the external review led by Catherine Colonna to assess UNRWA’s compliance with neutrality. These developments prompted UNRWA Lebanon Director Dorothy Klaus to summon several UNRWA school principals who had been leading the disruptive political activities, warning them that they were in violation of UNRWA neutrality and that they would have to resign if they refused to comply.

Despite the warnings from Klaus, the disruptive political activities on UNRWA premises in Lebanon continued. Therefore, on February 26, Klaus summoned Fateh al-Sharif, one of the protest leaders who is also the principal of UNRWA’s Deir Yassin High School and head of the UNRWA Lebanon teachers’ union, and informed him that he had until March 2 to resign or face an investigation for his political activities on UNRWA premises. When al-Sharif declined to resign, Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini sent him an email confirming his suspension for three months for “political activities violating neutrality.”

In addition to being a leader of the post-October 7th protests in UNRWA facilities, Al-Sharif is also a Hamas member. He has attended Hamas events, rallies, and funerals, always appearing near the Hamas leadership. For example, in December 2021, Al-Sharif participated in the funeral of three Hamas members who had been killed by the Palestinian Authority. He eulogized the Hamas members as “our martyrs” and “men of high importance” and wished “curses upon those who killed them,” referring to the PA forces. As noted above, key Hamas leaders attended al-Sharif’s son’s wedding. Al-Sharif also has close personal ties with other terrorists. In June 2023, al-Sharif mourned the death of his friend Sheikh Haitham Abdul Karim Al-Saadi (“Abu Tariq”), deputy emir of the Asbat al-Ansar — designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., UK, Canada, the UN, and others — whom he referred to as his “honorable brothers.”

III. UNRWA Union and Terrorist Groups Unite to Threaten UNRWA Officials

Al-Sharif’s suspension provoked significant backlash. The UNRWA Lebanon teachers’ union quickly issued “Statement No. 1,” characterizing the suspension as an “existential threat,” “blackmail,” and a “declaration of war,” while praising al-Sharif’s reputation as a union leader, as well as al-Sharif’s leadership in hiring hundreds of UNRWA teachers.

“Whoever does not know who “Fateh Amin Sharif” is among his people, let him know that he is a man the size of a nation, and whoever dares to blackmail this important person is blackmailing our Palestinian people in Lebanon from the far north to the far south. Neither UNRWA nor any framework in this world, no matter how high its status, can blackmail us with our patriotism, thought, and belonging to our beloved land”

“[Klaus] is playing with fire and an existential war in which only the owners of the land and the cause will remain,” indicating that “neither the UNRWA agency nor any framework in this world, no matter how high its status, can blackmail us.”

Palestinian terrorist groups such as Hamas, through its Office of Refugee Affairs, and the PFLP defended al-Sharif, framing UNRWA’s actions as an attack on Palestinian national identity — “the national affiliation of our people’s employees is a red line that we do not allow to be crossed.”

Subsequently, a coalition of Palestinian terrorist groups, including the Palestinian Forces Alliance, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front (DFLP), the Islamic Forces, civil committees, representatives of the Palestine Scholars Council and Association, the Houthis, and the Popular Committees made a “declaration of conflict and administrative disobedience” with UNRWA. These groups made it clear that the PLO and PA were not welcomed as part of the coalition. They imposed a nationwide strike in 62 UNRWA schools affecting 36,000 children, proclaiming this as a warning that would escalate if the decision was not reversed. The protests also forced the shutdown of UNRWA’s Beirut headquarters.

This terrorist coalition also made direct threats to UNRWA Lebanon Director Dorothy Klaus insinuating that she was working with Zionist forces despite Klaus’s adamant stance that she was only trying to reassure donor states. In one statement the coalition asked:

“In whose interest will the file of accountability for intellectual and political affiliation be activated at this time? Who is the instigator of this? For whose benefit does this new terrorism practice against specific intellectual and political trends under the pretext of supporting donor countries? Are the Director General, her team, and those who incited her able to bear the consequences of this new and dangerous trend.”

In a joint letter, the coalition wrote:

“The UNRWA administration in Lebanon, represented by its Director General, Mrs. Dorothy Klaus, crosses all red lines and ignites fire with its own hands to destroy UNRWA, in complement and harmony with the malicious projects that aim to liquidate the issue.”

“The Palestinian political forces are determined to wage the confrontation until the end so as not to repeat the rosary and threaten employees with dismissal as a sword drawn over their necks under the pretext of violating “neutrality,” which means stripping national affiliation in favor of the job or stopping financial funding for “UNRWA,” considering that the political forces refuse. UNRWA’s attempts to classify employees, distinguish between them, and threaten them, stressing that the threat of employees by the agency’s director in Lebanon, Dorothy Klaus, is a tampering with the social security and civil stability of the Palestinian community in Lebanon…”

In the picture below, Fateh al-Sharif is seen delivering a speech in front of the UNRWA HQ in Beirut with a banner featuring Dorothy Klaus with a red X over her face. The second picture is the posters put up by the student forces of Klaus.

In another statement, the coalition threatened to equate the UNRWA administration with enemies of the “resistance” unless UNRWA reverses its decision:

The UNRWA administration warned against targeting any of our people’s employees, and we will place them in line with the malicious projects that target our people and their resistance…”

Philippe Lazzarini’s deputy, Antonia De Meo, further fueled the tension by suggesting that the agency could transfer its services to a Palestinian administration, causing an uproar among Palestinians who insist UNRWA must continue to exist until their right of return is realized. The DFLP’s Relief Agency Department expressed its rejection of De Meo’s proposal, stating that it “contradicts the decision to establish UNRWA which links its existence to the end of the reason for which it was established” — the “reason” being the creation of the State of Israel — and that the Palestinian Authority is not a substitute for UNRWA.

For more than two months, al-Sharif, student leaders, and leaders of this terrorist coalition coordinated protests across UNRWA premises. A student association vowed to escalate its measures if the administration did not meet their demands:

“We denounce this unjust decision and demand that the UNRWA administration reverse it. Otherwise, we in the student forces and Palestinian youth organizations in Lebanon will proceed to take escalatory measures in all regions and gradually if the administration does not respond to our legitimate demand…”

In early March, Al-Sharif spoke in front of a student march in the Al-Bass camp, where Deir Yassin High School is located, asserting that he has not resigned and will not change his position or stop his activities. Al-Sharif said:

“The job was never a goal, and it will never humiliate us, nor will it make us give up our rights, our dignity, and our pride. I said it, and I say it, and I repeat it, that our affiliation to Palestine, to our people, to Gaza, to the West Bank, and to all of Palestine, is a religious affiliation, and there is no going back from it.”

Member of the Popular Committee of Ain al-Hilweh Camp, Adnan al-Rifai, told one news source that it is impossible to expect UNRWA employees to be neutral:

“This neutrality, as UNRWA wants, means attacking the Palestinian national situation. How is it possible for the employee to remain a spectator to the slaughter of his people?” How can he remain neutral? It’s dangerous. The Palestinian employee is a local employee, not an international employee. How can they want him to be neutral, when he is at the mercy of the Palestinian people and lives with their suffering, poverty, misery, and deprivation?”

He went on to add that if the situation is not reversed they would escalate and forcibly prevent Klaus from entering the camp.

IV. UNRWA Caves to Terrorists Demands

UNRWA caved in to the terrorists’ demands. First, it blamed donors for the actions it had taken against al-Sharif, stating “donor countries will not support UNRWA if the administration does not take such measures against him [Al-Sharif] and other employees.” UNRWA explained that it is not enforcing its own neutrality policies because it wants to abide by these rules, but rather that it is being forced to do so in order for states to have cover to appease their own constituencies so that they can continue funding the agency. Next, Lazzarini attempted to further distance UNRWA from the actions against al-Sharif by explaining that “the decision is carried out by the Department of Internal Oversight Services, based on reports about alleged activities carried out by the employee that violate the agency’s regulatory framework.” 

These explanations did not dissuade the terrorist coalition from continuing the protests. Strike leaders argued that similar measures had been imposed on other teachers in the past, including Professors Ahmed Meyari, Ziad Abdel Ghani, and Ahmed Nimr Mustafa in 2023, and Muhammad Khalil Abu Arab in 2022, but these teachers were all ultimately reinstated after widespread protests pressuring UNRWA management. Therefore, they insisted on continuing the pressure campaign with regard to al-Sharif.

Once again the terrorist coalition was able to successfully apply this strategy in the Al-Sharif case. On May 27th, Lazzarini traveled to Beruit where he met with the terrorist leaders in a meeting mediated by Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati. One of the terrorist leaders who spoke at this meeting was none other than Hamas Lebanon representative Ahmad Abd Al-Hadi who just endorsed Hamas’s October 7 attack. At the meeting, Lazzarini conceded to the terrorist coalition’s demands and reportedly agreed to reinstate al-Sharif in exchange for getting the UNRWA Beirut headquarters reopened. In doing so, Lazzarini contravened his commitment to donors to implement the Colonna Report’s findings and recommendations from just one month earlier.

Will UNRWA’s top officials finally acknowledge that they are not in control of their staff and therefore are unable to implement the Colonna Report as promised? No, instead it appears that the administration is attempting to cover up this story while it continues business as usual.

Also importantly, who really is Fateh al-Sharif and how did he manage to gain the support of terrorist groups and even the Lebanese prime minister? What prompted UNRWA to suspend him in the first place?

V. Examples of Al-Sharif’s connections and support for Hamas and other terrorists

Following are only a few of al-Sharif’s countless public Facebook posts, and pictures of him from Hamas accounts, making it clear why an entire coalition of terrorist groups rallied behind him these past few months, shutting down UNRWA operations in Lebanon.  In his posts, al-Sharif celebrates the October 7th massacre, shares pictures of himself organizing political rallies for his UNRWA students, celebrates the killing of Israelis, states that resistance “by all means” is a “right,” glorifies various terrorists, and encourages teachers to disseminate maps that erase Israel.  In turn, these posts promoting terrorism and the elimination of Israel were liked and shared by numerous other UNRWA employees. However, UNRWA has failed to fire any of these employees who violate the agency’s rules on “neutrality.”

BELOW: October 19, 2023 picture of al-Sharif sitting in front row at a Hamas event among its leadership in Lebanon. In the first picture below, al-Sharif is seen sitting with his arms crossed, as the Hamas chief political officer in Lebanon,  Ahmed Abdul-Hadi, addressed the crowd one week after October 7th, to celebrate the “martyrdom” of three Hamas terrorists — Ahmed Osama Othman and Yahya Nayef Abdel Razek from Ain al-Hilweh camp, and Suhaib Omar Kayed from Wadi al-Zeina — who were killed while attempting to infiltrate from Lebanon into the northern Israeli community of Moshav Margaliot.

“We have very strong relations with Hezbollah. We were cooperating with Hezbollah before the attack on Israel and after and now we are in full cooperation,” Abdul-Hadi told Politico the day before. “They are saying they are geared for a major war.” Asked about the October 7th massacre, Abdul-Hadi recently declared: “If we could go back in time, we would do it again.”

This event was publicized by a Hamas-affiliated news channel that publishes pictures of other Hamas events in the same location featuring children training to be terrorists:

On the same day that this Hamas-linked account showed UNRWA official al-Sharif attending the Hamas event eulogizing the terrorists, it also showed related photos of “Distributing sweets in Wadi Al-Zeina in the joy of our martyr, Saheb Omar Kaid, may Allah have mercy on him.” Hamas was celebrating a local “martyr” from the town, one of three Al Qassam terrorists killed on October 13, 2023 while attempting to infiltrate into Israel from Lebanon near the northern town of Margaliot. The account continued to announce events celebrating the Hamas terrorist, “Our hero martyr, Saheb Omar Kaid,” including a “victory seminar” in honor of the terrorist, the video of which was posted here. The terrorist was also honored at an April 1, 2024 event by the Islamic Association of Palestine Students, a pro-Hamas youth group that was one of many associations mobilized to pressure UNRWA into backing down from requesting al-Sharif’s resignation.

Picture of al-Sharif at a Hamas funeral on December 18, 2021:

January 19, 2024 photo of al-Sharif at another Hamas funeral for Walid Ahmed Hassanein.

Picture of al-Sharif attending a Hamas rally in Al-Bass Camp on October 13, 2023 in support of Hamas’ Oct 7 attack:

Al-Sharif appears in photos among the Hamas organizers of the rally which includes Hamas spokesman in Lebanon Jihad Taha.

On June 24, 2020, top officials from Hamas and other terrorist organizations attended the engagement party of Fateh al-Sharif’s son, Ibrahim Fateh Sharif. 

This is al-Sharif and his two sons embracing Sheikh Haitham Abdul Karim Al-Saadi “Abu Tariq”, deputy emir of the terrorist group Islamic Ansar League.

Here is al-Sharif and his son Ibrahim with Hamas Spokesman, Jihad Taha between them.

Here is al-Sharif with the Public Relations Officer for Hamas in Lebanon Dr. Ayman Shana and Hamas’ UNRWA lobbyist Hajj Abu Hussam Zuaiter.

Here is al-Sharif with Hamas representatives Ahmad Abd Al-Hadi and Ali Baraka. Ali Baraka is a senior Hamas official who oversees the group’s foreign relations. He was one of 8 Hamas officials sanctioned by the US and UK after October 7th for perpetuating the massacre. Baraka has claimed that Hamas has been planning October 7th for two years and has been vocal in his support for the taking of hostages.

On February 1, 2019, top Hamas officials also attended the engagement of Fateh al-Sharif’s other son, Amin Fateh Sharif.  

The Hamas trio of Ahmad Abd Al-Hadi, Jihad Taha, and Abdul Majeed Al-Awad who appear multiple times with al-Sharif have been hosted as the official representatives of Hamas in Lebanon at a series of meetings, including with the Ambassadors of Iran, Russia, Qatar, Turkey, Algeria, Indonesia, Cuba and Venezuela. They have also been hosted by Lebanese officials including the Minister of Labor Mustafa Bayram, and the former prime minister of Lebanon, Hassan Diab. They have also represented Hamas in meetings with the officials of Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and al-Jamaa al-Islamiya. Finally, they have also been interviewed as Hamas representatives by al-Jazeera and Newsweek where Al-Hadi once stated, “We coordinated with Hezbollah and with Iran before, during, and after this battle at the highest levels” concerning the October 7th attacks.

In at least one meeting with the Russian Ambassador, one with the Venezuelan Ambassador, and another with the terrorist group al-Jamaa al-Islamiya the topic of discussion was how to pressure UNRWA. In one meeting with the Vice-President of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali al-Khatib, the trio conveyed greetings from Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, and in another meeting, Al-Hadi relayed a message from Haniyeh to Nasrallah through Hezbollah’s liaison. 

Jihad Taha and Ahmad Abd Al-Hadi have also been involved in UNWRA demonstrations before. On January 23, 2016, both can be seen holding a banner in front of UNRWA headquarters in Beirut protesting changes to UNRWA’s health policies.  

On March 29, 2018 al-Sharif organized an event with Hamas to honor the teachers in the Al-Bass Camp and oppose the Deal of the Century.

Hamas’ political and media relations officer Abdul Majeed Al-Awad told teachers “that this day is the day of insistence on liberating every speck of dirt from Palestine, and our Palestinian people have proven with their blood that we are the legitimate owners of the land, and the occupiers are the alien strangers.” He went on to add that, “we must all stand in one row to confront the deal of the century, stressing that the greatest response to the deal is the return marches, working to unify and strengthen the Palestinian ranks, and agreeing on a unified strategy based on the option of confrontation and resistance.”

In effect, al-Sharif is collaborating with Hamas to ensure teachers are implementing the Hamas philosophy of violent resistance in their classrooms.

June 3, 2023 picture of al-Sharif with Sheikh Haitham Abdul Karim Al-Saadi “Abu Tariq”, deputy emir of the UN-designated terrorist group Islamic Ansar League whom he describes in the post as “my honorable brothers”:

July 2, 2019 post praising Hamas “firm leader” Hassan Youssef:

This post is liked by several UNRWA teachers and his deputy:

June 4, 2024 post honoring “brother” Hamas member Abu Jihad Radwan Deeb. 

Seen below at his funeral adorned with a Hamas headscarf, and in an earlier photo carrying a child with a weapon next to the casket of Hamas terrorist Walid Ahmed Hassanein:

Al-Sharif proudly boasts on Facebook about the many political rallies he organized for his students in UNRWA camps and facilities, including within school grounds. Below is a selection of photos from Al-Sharif’s Facebook page. In one photo, a student is seen holding a Hamas flag:

December 18, 2021 post glorifies three Hamas members who were killed by the PA:

In the post, al-Sharif wishes curses upon the PA while celebrating the Hamas members as “men of importance” and “protector of the book of Allah.”

:

December 17, 2021 post praises Hamas terrorist Hussein Al-Ahmed:

This post was liked by UNRWA teachers:

January 3, 2024 post meeting with the sons of deceased Hamas leaders who “are walking on their [fathers’] path”:

Abu Amer Fendi was the leader of Hamas operations in southern Lebanon and Abu Khaled Al-Khharaz was the deputy commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades in Lebanon.

The above post was liked and commented on by UNRWA teachers:

November 23, 2023 post endorses Hamas’s hostage-taking strategy when by thanking Hamas for freeing convicted terrorist Israa Jaabis who, in 2015, detonated a bomb injuring an Israeli police officer. She was released as part of the November 2023 deal for the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

November 26, 2023 post celebrating Hamas’ achievement of setting Palestinian prisoners free in the hostage release deal:

February 16, 2024 post venerates “old union friend” and PFLP member, Muhammad Dheeb Al-Jadoua, as a “father,” “teacher,” and “friend”:

November 21, 2021 post celebrates Hamas terrorist Fadi Abu Shkhidem as a “martyr” after he was killed in the course of committing a terrorist attack in Jerusalem killing one and injuring four others. The text on the photo reads “our blood creates victory,” which is an endorsement of violent terrorism:

March 25, 2021 post commemorating West Bank Hamas leader Omar Barghouti (aka Abu Assif Barghouti) who had just died, while also referring to his son Saleh Barghouti, as a “martyr.” Saleh was a Hamas terrorist who had shot and injured seven Israeli civilians at a bus stop in December 2018, including a pregnant woman whose baby later died:

Posts celebrating October 7th: [1][2][3][4][5]

July 25, 2023 post encourages teachers to disseminate map erasing Israel. Accompanying text laments Israel’s creation which resulted in the area not “remain[ing] Palestine” and hopes for “return”:

March 31, 2024 post calling on the spy that reported him to UNWRA administration to “die in disgust”:

April 6, 2024 post endorsing Hamas, referred to as “the resistance”:

Full translation: “The resistance of our people will certainly be victorious, God willing, despite the failure of those who are negligent and the conspiracy of the conspirators. God is victorious over His command, and victory is only from God.”

As far back as September 21, 2013, al-Sharif had a post celebrating the kidnap and murder of an Israeli soldier in which he says “resistance” by “all means” is “our right”:

May 13, 2018 post calling for a return to Jerusalem through “resistance, liberation, and return”:

February 28, 2015 post endorsing violent resistance, proclaiming that it is not terrorism, it is an honor:

This post was liked by several UNRWA teachers:

One week later on March 6, 2015, al-Sharif reaffirmed his position by stating that “accusing the honorable resistance of terrorism is a disgrace…”

May 2, 2023 post eulogizing Khader Adnan, a senior leader of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group:

September 6, 2021 posts celebrating the Gilboa Prison break, where six Palestinian prisoners, including the former leader of al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades in Jenin, escaped from Israeli detention through tunnels. Al-Sharif had five posts supporting this escape.

On September 26, 2022, al-Sharif eulogized Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, a head of the Muslim Brotherhood who is mainly known as the key figure in shaping the concept of violent jihad.

On May 23, 2021, al-Sharif praised his unity with Abu Ali Mustafa, who served as the former General Secretary of the terrorist organization Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

On May 14, 2021 al-Sharif eulogized Mohammed Tahan, a Hezbollah terrorist who was killed attempting to infiltrate Israel to become a martyr. He is described by his family as “consumed by the idea of becoming a martyr — of fulfilling the destiny laid out for him since he was born.” His entire family is affiliated with Hezbollah. About his death, Tahan’s father stated “I wouldn’t expect anything less from him… My children are the same as well. Even my daughter, when she was little, wanted to have a plastic gun, just like her brothers. For us, freeing Palestine is tantamount to an obligatory prayer…We were raised to take the road to Jerusalem.”

To top it all off here is Fateh’s certificate of appreciation from UNRWA for his contribution to “enhancing the school community to guarantee a better future for Palestine refugee children”

The post The Case of Fathi Sharif: Head of UNRWA Teachers Union is Hamas Terror Chief appeared first on UN Watch.

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Introduction

On February 5, 2024, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of an “Independent Review Group” with the stated purpose of assessing whether the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) “is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches when they are made.”[1]

The announcement came shortly after 18 top donor states to UNRWA suspended funding to the agency,[2] due to revelations that at least 12 UNRWA staffers participated[3] in the October 7^th massacre and that hundreds of the agency’s employees are operatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.[4]

Catherine Colonna, the former French Minister of Foreign Affairs, was selected to lead the Review Group, which also consisted of the following three Scandinavian research institutions: The Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) in Norway; The Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden, and The Danish Institute for Human Rights.

The Review Group began its work on February 14^th and submitted an interim report to the Secretary-General on March 20^th. Though the interim report was not made public, the UN announced that the report “found that UNRWA has in place a significant number of mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with the Humanitarian Principle of neutrality.”[5] The final report is scheduled to be released to the public on April 20^th.

The EU, Canada, Sweden, Finland, France, Australia and Japan have already each announced that they are resuming funding to UNRWA.

A brief examination of all of the parties involved in the review group confirms that they are not unbiased, objective observers. Rather, Ms. Colonna, the three organizations, and many of their staff have previously issued statements, published content, and liked social media posts demonstrating their positive feelings towards UNRWA and its work, often even after the newfound allegations of UNRWA’s links to Hamas post-October 7^th, and their animosity towards the State of Israel.

On Saturday, the Independent Review into UNRWA's terror ties will release its report. Donors will then decide if to reinstate funding. Just one problem: the entire investigation is rigged. Let's do a deep dive into who the UN picked, and how they admit it's to “provide cover”: 🧵

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) April 16, 2024

Top UNRWA Official: Colonna Report Is To “Provide Cover” 

In a moment of candor, the actual purpose of the Colonna Report was stated by longtime UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness, who retired in 2019 after 12 years in the post, returning recently to act as a  surrogate for UNRWA with frequent appearances on Al Jazeera and other media.  “I hope that the external report by the former French foreign minister, soon to be available, will provide the donors with further cover if that’s what they need within their own internal constituencies to resume funding for UNRWA,” Gunness told Passblue, a website that advocates for the UN.

In other words, the review is not an impartial investigation into how UNRWA’s mechanisms and procedures have completely failed to ensure compliance with the humanitarian principle of neutrality, turning a blind eye to hundreds of UNRWA staff, teachers, school principals and union leaders who serve as Hamas operatives and as members of the Hamas Politburo. Rather, the appointment of the review group was designed by the UN and UNRWA as a political maneuver to give “further cover” to donor states—“if that’s what they need within their own internal constituencies to resume funding for UNRWA.”

UN Chief Named Colonna “To Reassure Donors”

This is corroborated by statements made by the UN itself, acknowledging that the purpose of the Review Group is to ease the concerns of donors, rather than to objectively investigate UNRWA’s ties to terror.

On February 21, UN Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said that Secretary-General Guterres named Catherine Colonna to lead the Review Group in order to “reassure those donors who may have doubts.”[6]

Likewise, on February 22,  Ms. Colonna herself stated that that the entire purpose of her investigation is to ensure that donations to UNRWA continue—not that everything be done to objectively investigate and stop systematic UNRWA staff complicity with and promotion of terrorism. Speaking at a UN press conference on February, Colonna said:

“The aim of this important and delicate mission, entrusted to us by the Secretary General, is to enable donors, the largest among them, but in fact everyone, to regain confidence, when they have lost it or when they have doubts, in the way UNRWA operates.”[7]

These statements confirm that a predetermined outcome to ensure the reinstatement of funding was in mind for both the UN and Ms. Colonna.

Colonna Biased For UNRWA, Against Israel

Colonna Hailed UNRWA

Less than two weeks before being appointed to head the review group, Ms. Colonna posted on X on January 13, 2024 to commend UNRWA for its work, which she wrote was “more useful than ever.” She expressed this praise for UNRWA just four days after UN Watch revealed to the world that 3,000 UNRWA teachers were members of an UNRWA Telegram chat group that celebrated the October 7^th attack. Ms. Colonna was also a public supporter of UNRWA during her time as French foreign minister.

The feelings were mutual. UNRWA referred to its “strong support from France” while Colonna was foreign minister, and specifically praised Colonna:

“One week after the Humanitarian Conference at Elysee, thank you to [President] Emmanuel Macron and [Foreign Minister] Colonna for their continued political and financial commitment alongside UNRWA. The strong support of states like France for UNRWA is crucial for the humanitarian operation at Gaza.”

UNRWA praised France’s role at a pledging conference, for having “highlight[ed] unanimous and continuous support to UNRWA.”

In 2021, France also praised UNRWA lawyer Johann Soufi, who openly lied on French television when he said that the accredited non-governmental organization United Nations Watch is “a lobby that works primarily for the Israeli government.”[8]

Colonna’s Conflict of Interest As UNRWA Donor & Board Member 

The independence of Catherine Colonna as the head of the Independent Review Group into UNRWA is further called into question by her recent role as French Foreign Minister. She served in this position from May 2022 to January 2024. Previously, she had served many years as a French diplomat and as spokeswoman for the Elysée, the French presidency.

France is the fourth-largest donor to UNRWA. In addition to financial support, France is also a major political backer of UNRWA, routinely promoting and endorsing its work. On March 4, 2024, in a statement before the UN General Assembly, the French ambassador declared  complete support for UNRWA, describing its role as “crucial.” The agency, France insisted, is “an essential contributor to the stability of the region,” and for years to come, its mandate “will remain relevant until a political settlement is found to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

All of this contributes to the complexity of Colonna’s position in leading an impartial review. Her lifetime in French governmental roles and associated responsibilities towards the foreign policy of France, which is a donor and founding board member of UNRWA, presents a conflict of interest.

If the review were to find systemic failures within UNRWA concerning its ties to Hamas or other terrorist groups, or systemic failures to address UNRWA staff encouragement and promotion of terrorism, as well as incitement to violence and antisemitism, such adverse findings would retrospectively cast a shadow on Colonna’s decisions and actions as Foreign Minister, where she might have overseen or endorsed French financial and political support for UNRWA. Such findings could also cast a shadow on any decisions and actions by her predecessors and colleagues in the French foreign ministry, and in other levels and departments of the French government, who were involved in overseeing the country’s support for and oversight of UNRWA.

This situation places Ms. Colonna in a delicate position where her very recent affiliations with French governmental policies towards UNRWA could influence her current evaluative responsibilities and could lead to potential biases, consciously or subconsciously, in the review’s findings.

Colonna’s ability to lead an impartial investigation into UNRWA could therefore be compromised, as her professional integrity and historical decisions, as well as those of other diplomats and elected officials in France, could be at stake depending on the outcomes of the review.

Colonna’s Conflict of Interest Violates UN Standards of Conduct

Catherine Colonna’s participation in the Independent Review Group for UNRWA amounts to a gross violation of legal principles relating to conflict of interest and the requirement for impartiality in administrative and legal reviews.

• Conflict of Interest: According to general principles of administrative law, any individual involved in a decision-making or review process should be free from any conflicts of interest that might influence their judgment. As a former French Foreign Minister, Colonna’s prior involvement with policies or decisions relating to UNRWA funding could represent a conflict of interest, particularly if her actions during her tenure could be indirectly assessed as part of the review.

• Duty of Impartiality: The duty of impartiality is fundamental in international law and administrative procedures, ensuring that decisions are made based on fairness and without bias. The UN itself emphasizes the importance of impartiality in its operations. Because Colonna’s previous role aligned with French foreign policy that is supportive of UNRWA, her impartiality in evaluating the agency is compromised.

• United Nations Standards of Conduct: The UN has its own standards concerning the conduct of individuals who undertake roles on its behalf, which stress independence, impartiality, and integrity. These standards are meant to ensure that reviews and assessments are conducted without any undue influence from previous affiliations or potential future incentives.

Colonna’s participation in and leadership of the Review Group violates these principles. Her very recent role in a government that supported UNRWA financially and politically could be seen as a direct conflict with the need for an unbiased review of the agency’s conduct, infringing on the legal and ethical standards expected in such reviews.

Secretary-General Guterres could have chosen from any number of prominent and credible figures who did not have these conflicts, or prior public pronouncements that take a position on the work of UNRWA. But the UN chose Colonna precisely because they were certain that her findings would “reassure the donors.”

Review Group Researchers Biased For UNRWA, Against Israel

Chr. Michelsen Institute: Israel Guilty of ‘Apartheid,’ ‘Genocide’

The impartiality of Norway’s Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) concerning UNRWA is undermined by the extreme bias of its publications on UNRWA, and by the litany of pronouncements by numerous of its staff and board members accusing Israel of “apartheid” and “genocide.” 

In 2022, CMI published a report on UNRWA examining reasons for the agency’s funding troubles and advising steps forward. In the report, CMI states that UNRWA’s funding problems are caused by “unfounded claims” that the agency “instigates violence, for example, through school curricula with an anti-Israeli edge.”

In other words, CMI has already expressed the opinion that claims of UNRWA incitement—documented over 10 years in a series of reports by UN Watch that show screenshots of UNRWA teachers calling to slaughter Jews—are “unfounded.”

The researcher and lead author of CMI’s 2022 UNRWA report is Kjersti G. Berg, who is involved in most if not all of CMI’s published material relating to UNRWA. Since January 2024, Berg has defended UNRWA and the continued funding of the organization (see here and here).

Ms. Berg published a book in 2023, “Palestina. Fakta på bakken,” where she argues in favor of the Palestinian “right of return,” which effectively means the destruction of the State of Israel. In 2017, Berg hosted a lecture with Raja Shehadeh, founder of the group Al-Haq, which in 2021 was designated by Israel as a terrorist organization.

CMI Senior Staff & Board Members Accuse Israel of “Genocide” & “Apartheid”

• In January 2024, in a post entitled “Speaking out against genocide and repression”, the CMI’s Anthropologist blog issued a call for papers that spoke of “Israel’s ongoing destruction of Gaza and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.” CMI made no mention at all of Hamas, its atrocities, or the Israeli hostages in Gaza.

• The editor of this CMI blog, Antonio De Lauri, is a research professor at CMI. On March 7, 2024, he tweeted: “President Biden, why do you support genocide in Gaza?” This CMI employee has also endorsed similar claims by condemned antisemite Francesca Albanese. A review of his Twitter feed shows that, by contrast, he has never even mentioned Hamas.

• CMI Research Director Torunn Wimpelmann, posted in support of South Africa’s legal action in the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of “genocide.”

• In October 2023, 17 CMI researchers and staff signed a statement accusing Israel of practicing “apartheid.” The signatories alleged “historical inequalities, injustice and violence” brought about “by Israel’s longstanding occupation” and its “maintenance of an apartheid state.” Those accusing Israel of these crimes, as published on the CMI website, included the following employees, each of whom indicated “Chr. Michelsen Institute” after their names: Antonio De Lauri, Heidi Mogstad, Anwesha Dutta, Emily Hume Lovise Aalen, Salla Turunen, Jessica Schultz, Astri Suhrke, Carmeliza Rosario, Iva Jelusic, Saul Mullard, Cathrine Talleraas, Liv Tønnessen, Mari Norbakk, Karine A. Jansen, Aslak Orre, Kari Telle and Elin Skaar.

• The recent chairman of CMI’s board, Guri Rørtveit, clicked like to endorse a post by the anti-Israel group “Jewish Voice for Peace,” in which members of the group celebrated an illegal sit-in at the US Congress.

• On October 10, 2023, just three days after the Hamas massacre, CMI Board Member Catharina Bu published a Facebook post about “Orthodox Jews demonstrating for Palestine against Israel,” presumably the fringe Neturei Karta sect, and she added a photo of a sign reading “Israel is responsible for 75 years of tragic bloodshed.” In the same post, she encouraged the Norwegian government to increase funding for UNRWA. Likewise, this CMI Board Member also posted on X that she was “very happy” that a Norwegian activist group and its leader, at a conference of the Norwegian agency for development cooperation, “express[ed] their concern about the economic cuts to UNRWA.” Earlier, in 2013, Ms. Bu called on Norway’s government pension fund to divest from Israeli government bonds. Notably, Ms. Bu is the Secretary General of the UN Association of Norway, which claims that “Israel is practicing apartheid against Palestinians.”

• Another CMI Board Member, Andrew Norton, posted an article accusing Israel of “apartheid.”

• CMI Research Director Sarah A. Tobin worked as an instructor for UNRWA.

In conclusion, it is clear that there is a systemic bias within CMI against Israel and in support of UNRWA, and that CMI lacks the impartiality necessary to objectively examine UNRWA support for and complicity with terrorism.

Raoul Wallenberg Institute (RWI)

The leading staff and board members of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute (RWI)  have been routinely portraying Israel as uniquely evil.

Eight years ago, in 2016, RWI Executive Director Peter Lundberg accused Israel of “apartheid.”

Following are other posts endorsed on the X account of Peter Lundberg including when he was a Swedish government official before joining RWI. Specifically, Lundberg clicked “Like” on several pro-UNRWA posts since the Hamas-Israel War, including:

• • Jan Egeland’s post attacking critics of UNRWA as “abhorrent”: A united humanity must stand with, fund and defend UNRWA. They do more for civilians in Gaza then the rest of us combined.  The extremist political attacks on them are abhorrent. More than 100 of their aid workers have been killed.
  • OCHA chief Martin Griffith’s tweet advocating support for UNRWA, endorsing criticism of Switzerland’s vote to defund UNRWA: What @UNRWA needs right now is more support, not less.

RWI Board Member Anne Ramberg has accused Israel of committing “an ongoing genocide in Gaza.” She also liked several pro-UNRWA posts, including:

• • Isabella Lovin’s post defending UNRWA funding: There will be catastrophic consequences for the 2,2 million people of Gaza if funds are stopped to @UNRWA. Everyone knows no other entity has the capacity to replace this support, the entire humanitarian system in Gaza will collapse. Please listen to @UNReliefChief!
  • Malin Bjork’s post defending UNRWA funding: “It’s devastating to stop the support for #UNRWA. Even members of the liberal group in the EU Parliament understand this. Why don’t the Swedish liberals understand it? Good initiative from @samiraraf.”
  • Ramberg likewise has written that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians “equates to apartheid” and accused Israel of ethnic cleansing.

RWI on its website features a lengthy interview with Richard Falk, after he was famously condemned for antisemitism by the United Kingdom, championing his report for Arab states that accused Israel of “apartheid.”

Danish Institute Backs UNRWA Funding

The Danish Institute for Human Rights has demonstrated a sharp anti-Israel and pro-UNRWA bias, as evident by its public statements, pronouncements of its board members and senior staff, and its sole Palestinian partner organization.

For example, DIHR applauded South Africa’s ICJ case that accused Israel of “genocide.” In a statement on behalf of DIHR, Senior Researcher Peter Vedel Kessing called the ruling a “breakthrough and an important progress for international humanitarian law.”

In addition:

• DIHR Board Member Jonas Vejsager Nøddekær supported continued funding to UNRWA, stating, “It will make the humanitarian disaster even worse to suspend support for the UN’s humanitarian work in Gaza. The humanitarian aid that comes into Gaza is already extremely limited, so we support the Danish government’s decision to continue the support, because the needs are so great.”

• DIHR’s Communications Director, Jakob Sheikh, has posted anti-Israel content. For example in 2021, he publicly stated that Israel has “illegally occupied” Palestinians for 70 years, effectively contesting Israel’s recognition by the United Nations before and after its founding in 1948.

• Sheikh also clicked like on pro-UNRWA posts as recently as January 29^th, 2024, just one week before his organization was selected for the Review Group, including Waleed Safi’s post condemning Western countries’ withholding of support to UNRWA.

In addition, the DIHR’s Palestine partner is the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), a group that hosted at its events members of the US-designated terror groups Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Multiple staffers of this DIHR partner have voiced support for these terror groups, and its founding members include PFLP members Raja Shehadeh and Raji Sourani. The Director of ICHR’s North Gaza office, Raafat Salha, represented the PFLP at a conference in 2012. In a January 28, 2024 statement, DIHR’s partner voiced support for UNRWA and opposed its defunding. The notion that DIHR could be impartial on matters affecting UNRWA is not credible.

_____

[1] Statement by the Secretary-General – on UNRWA, UNRWA (February 5, 2024), https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/statement-secretary-general-%E2%80%93-unrwa.

[2] List of Countries Suspending UNRWA Funding, UN Watch (January 29, 2024), https://unwatch.org/updated-list-of-countries-suspending-unwra-funding/.

[3] Details Emerge on U.N. Workers Accused of Aiding Hamas Raid, The New York Times (January 28, 2024), https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/28/world/middleeast/gaza-unrwa-hamas-israel.html.

[4] Intelligence Reveals Details of U.N. Agency Staff’s Links to Oct. 7 Attack, The Wall Street Journal (January 29, 2024), https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/at-least-12-u-n-agency-employees-involved-in-oct-7-attacks-intelligence-reports-say-a7de8f36.

[5] UNRWA review panel presents interim findings to Secretary-General, UN, (March 20, 2024), https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147796.

[6] Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, UN (February 21, 2024), https://press.un.org/en/2024/db240221.doc.htm.

[7] @HillelNeuer, X (March 22, 2024), https://x.com/HillelNeuer/status/1771139517170205067?s=20

[8] FranceInfo, March 5, 2024, “12/13 Info” program. In fact, United Nations Watch is a Swiss non-profit assocation governed by its members, recognized in 2002 by the United Nations as a non-governmental organizationUNRWA’s Rigged “Independent” Review and granted special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. It does not “work” for or receive funding from any government.

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WASHINGTON, January 29, 2024 — A new UN Watch report exposes a 3000-member Telegram chat group of UNRWA Teachers in Gaza who cheered and celebrated Hamas’s October 7th massacre while at the same time asking when their UNRWA salaries will be paid.

Entitled “UNRWA’s Terrorgram,” the new report focuses on 30 UNRWA teachers who among other things called for the execution of Israelis, shared instructions on how to aid Hamas’ efforts, and proclaimed they would like to emulate the teachings that the October 7th terrorists received with their own children. This evidence was collected and analyzed by the non-governmental organization UN Watch, an independent human rights monitoring group based in Geneva. The report also provides abundant evidence to corroborate the fact that the group is made for and by UNRWA teachers with thousands of files including UNRWA training instructions, employee lists, UNRWA contracts, educational materials, and UNRWA staff bulletins over several years.

The new cases are in addition to over 150 cases of UNRWA educators and staff who were exposed for promoting hate and violence in UN Watch’s reporting on UNRWA since 2015.

Several donor states have suspended funding to the agency over the past weekend in response to credible allegations that 12 UNRWA employees took part in the October 7th attack. UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, made a statement on Friday announcing that he has “taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay.” In this context, UN Watch’s Executive Director, Hillel Neuer, will be presenting the Terrorgram report tomorrow before U.S. Congress.

The UNRWA teachers identified in this report are:

1. Israa Abdul Kareem Mezher (Group Admin), UNRWA Contract Number: 30010783. On October 7th, he excitedly celebrated the Hamas massacre “God is the greatest God is the greatest” and declared “Israel’s time is over.”
2. Waseem Medhat Abu El Ula (Group Admin), UNRWA Contract Number: 30026402. Calls to kill Israelis— “execute the first settler” —and prays for terrorists’ success.
3. Safaa Mohammad Al Najjar (Group Admin), UNRWA Contract Number 30026166. On October 7th, she praised Hamas Mujahidin (“holy warriors”).
4. Abdallah Mehjaz (Group Admin), LinkedIn Profile confirms he is an UNRWA teacher. Urges Gaza civilians not to leave harm’s way, and instead to serve as human shields for Hamas.
5. Moreed Abdulaziz Issa, UNRWA Contract Number: 30016859. On October 7th, he celebrated the Hamas massacre of Israelis “What we did exceeded expectations… What they do after doesn’t matter.”
6. Shatha Husam Al Nawajha, UNRWA Contract Number: 30030836. On October 7th, she prayed for the success of the Hamas terrorists— “May God protect them and guide their aim.” She also wished for the terrorists’ “victory” and for their “safe return” with “booty.”
7. “Yousif’s Mother,” chat history includes conversations about her UNRWA salary. On October 7th, she praised Hamas terrorists as “heroes,” marveled at their “hearts,” and prayed for God to “guide their aim.”
8. Ibrahim Sami El Sultan, UNRWA Contract Number: 30016429. On October 7th, he cheered Hamas’s hostage-taking.
9. Abdul Rahman Ibrahim Hussein Zaqout, chat history includes conversations about his UNRWA salary. He prayed to “break the Jews and their camp.”
10. “Yaser,” posed in front of his classroom blackboard. Posted “Oh, how much I hate the Jews.”
11. “Abu Omar,” celebrates October 7th, glorifies Hamas terrorists and instructs fellow teachers on how to help them escape, and endorses hostage-killing and genocide of Jews.
12. “Muhammad Al Zuhairi,” justifies and celebrates the October 7th attack.
13. “Ibrahim Ibrahim,” Celebrates October 7th as “Blessed
    Day” and “Historical Moment”
14. Maha Khalil Hammad, Prays for Safety of Hamas Terrorists
15. “FR Mohamed,” praises October 7th terrorists, and rejects Israel’s right to exist.
16. “Asma Asma,” venerates Hamas terrorists.
17. “Fattouma Salem,” celebrates the Hamas attack.
18. “Salim Alawaity,” supports Hamas terrorists
19. “Muhammad Abu Al-Qasim,” celebrates the October 7th attack and calls Jews “apes and pigs.”
20. “Amna Shehada,” celebrates the October 7th attack.
21. “Amal Saleh,” endorses Hamas resistance.
22. “Gaith,” endorses Hamas terrorism.
23. “Umm Hossam,” backs murderous Hamas terrorists for “doing their duty.”
24. “Manael,” encourages Gazans to serve as human shields for Hamas.
25. “Abu Yaseen,” Chat history includes information
    on how to complete UNRWA training. He posts a picture to glorify terrorism for children.
26. “Alhamdulilah,” endorses Hamas atrocities.
27. “Ebtesam,” supports Hamas.
28. “Ahmad Abu Laila,” chat history includes discussions about UNRWA salaries and student test scores. He celebrates Hamas rockets.
29. Hadeel A. Baset Mahdi, UNRWA Contract Number: 30022924.  He glorifies Hamas terrorism.
30. Weam Majdi Kalloub, UNRWA Contract Number: 10777281. He celebrates the May 2021 Lod pogrom.

Call to Action:

The report calls on UNRWA’s donor states to:

• Demand that UNRWA implement its stated “Zero Tolerance” policy for employees who incite racism or murder, by immediately terminating such employees, and prominently publicizing on its website and social media these and other actions it is taking to root out such insidious conduct by UN staff, including the perpetrators listed in our previous reports;
• Establish, in concert with other like-minded donor states, an independent and impartial investigation with the mandate to examine the nature and extent of incitement to antisemitism and terrorism among UNRWA teachers and other staff, and in UNRWA educational materials, and to recommend remedial action;
• Demand that UNRWA provide an explanation as to why some employees identified in UN Watch’s reports were placed on paid leave rather than unpaid leave, as well as an explanation of what criteria determines whether an UNRWA employee who incites antisemitic hatred or terrorism receives a warning, dismissal or other disciplinary measures;
• Demand that UNRWA publicly disclose the names and records of completion of what
  it states is mandatory teacher training on neutrality, non-violence, tolerance, and conflict resolution, as well as on its teacher-centered approach;
• Determine and disclose which of the people identified as having posted antisemitism and terrorist incitement on social media, in this report and all previous reports, is still
  employed by UNRWA, and thereby potentially
  being funded by them;
• Demand that UNRWA conduct a thorough investigation of its facilities and put an immediate stop to all antisemitic or terrorist-inciting activities and images found there;
• Work with UNRWA to implement effective monitoring and controls to ensure the
  neutrality of UNRWA facilities, UNRWA educational materials, and staff and make
  public its activities in this regard;
• Demand that UNRWA be in full compliance with its neutrality obligations prior to releasing any further funds to UNRWA.

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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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WASHINGTON, March 14, 2023 — Teachers and schools at the UN agency that runs education and social services for Palestinians regularly call to murder Jews, and create teaching materials that glorify terrorism, encourage martyrdom, demonize Israelis and incite antisemitism, reveals a new report by two independent research and monitoring groups.

The joint report, to be presented today in a meeting at the U.S. Congress as it considers new legislation in the House and the Senate to cut funding for UNRWA, uncovers 47 new cases of incitement by UNRWA staff, in breach of the agency’s stated policies of zero tolerance for racism, discrimination or antisemitism in its schools and educational materials.

The report is a joint publication by United Nations Watch, an independent non-governmental human rights organization, and the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), an international research and policy institute that analyzes school curricula through UNESCO-defined standards of peace and tolerance.

The institutional teaching materials created by UNRWA’s own education departments and staff include over 300 pages of content labeled for use between 2021-2023, obtained from at least five separate and freely available open-source platforms, spanning grades 5, 6, 7 and 9 across 10 verified UNRWA schools.

The material carries UNRWA’s logo and the names of its schools and lists contributing UNRWA staff. They include school principals, vice principals, educational experts and teachers, who are all signed off on the violent and antisemitic content.

These materials have been kept off UNRWA’s new Digital Learning Platform which UNRWA claims is the sole source of learning materials self-produced by UNRWA. Yet they were distributed to hundreds of students through various platforms and channels, and taught in classrooms.

The report captures evidence taken from inside UNRWA classrooms, showing the teaching of these materials, and revealing how UNRWA’s own content directs students to study specific hateful passages in Palestinian textbooks — which the organization claims teachers are told to skip.

The report identifies 133 UNRWA educators and staff who were found to promote hate and violence on social media, and an additional 82 UNRWA teachers and other staff affiliated with over 30 UNRWA schools involved in drafting, supervising, approving, printing, and distributing hateful content to students. The hatred is systemic at UNRWA, and its internal self-auditing mechanisms are not fit for purpose, alleges the report.

Last May IMPACT-se met with UNRWA’s Commissioner General Philip Lazzarini raising concerns over institutional hate materials produced by the UN agency’s education departments freely available online. UN Watch has previously reached out to UNRWA prior to publication of its reports to raise concerns over promotion of hate and violence by its teachers on social media but has yet to receive a response.

UNRWA promised in 2021 that all hate material produced by the organization had been removed and is no longer circulated, and that any reported breach is dealt with firmly. This followed the agency’s earlier admission, in response to prior reports by IMPACT-se, that its teachers had “mistakenly” produced and distributed “inappropriate material.”

The report’s findings also contradict statements and promises very recently made by UNRWA to donor nations that the agency uses maps that acknowledge the existence of Israel; that it doesn’t teach about the glorification of terrorist Dalal Mughrabi; that its employed “neutrality officers” ensure the prevention of teaching of hate; and that its own reviews of host country textbooks identify all pages of problematic content, flag them, and provide specific instructions to teachers to avoid them.

IMPACT-SE and UN Watch submitted the joint report today to U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, EU Commissioner Joseph Borell, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The US, EU, and Germany are among the top funders to UNRWA. The groups also submitted the report to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini.

UN Watch and IMPACT-se are calling on the agency’s major funders to ensure that taxpayer funds to UNRWA are not used to support teachers, schools and school districts that teach antisemitism and hate, and to hold the agency accountable, per its commitments.

“With a budget of $1.6 billion, nearly 60% of which goes to education, and a staff of 30,000, the UN agency might be the most heavily funded educational undertaking in the history of international aid. And yet our report today demonstrates how UNRWA has consistently breached its duty of care to the children attending its schools,” said Marcus Sheff, CEO of IMPACT-se. “UNRWA is obsessed by PR spin and fundraising, but disinterested in the extremism of its educational network. If it had wanted to stop the hate-teaching, UNRWA would have done so years ago.”

Findings in Social Media: UNRWA Staff Incite Hate and Terrorism 

Among the UNRWA educators identified in the report as propagating hate on social media:

• UNRWA Syria math teacher Adnan Shteiwi glorified Diaa Hamarsheh, the perpetrator of the March 2022 Bnei Brak shooting attack which killed four Israeli civilians and one policeman as a “martyr” whose name should “forever remain in letters of fire, might, and magnificence.” UNRWA head math teacher Shteiwi’s Facebook post lionized Hamarsheh, a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, as “splendor” and called for “glory” to his “spirit.”

• UNRWA Lebanon teacher Riad Nimer venerated Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Commander Ibrahim Nabulsi as a “martyr” and the “noblest of souls.” Nabulsi’s cell had been responsible for several attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians in the West Bank, including an attack on the Jewish holy site Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus. UNRWA teacher Nimer’s post also encouraged others to follow Nabulsi’s path by posting the video of his funeral procession which called for “peace unto…martyrs who have commanded us to follow the path they had taken.”
• UNRWA Syria Employee Labibeh Iskandarani celebrated Adolf Hitler when she shared a photograph of Hitler, calling on him to wake up because “there are still some people you need to burn.” Iskandarani also liked comments by other UNRWA employees endorsing the post.

Findings in Curricula: UNRWA Schools Glorify Violence and Antisemitism

“Today’s report provides detailed evidence on how UNRWA creates institutional educational content for Palestinian children that glorifies terrorism, incites to violence, demonizes Israel and spreads antisemitism,” said Sheff.

Examples cited in the report, based on UNRWA classroom photos and other material found in Telegram and Facebook groups and elsewhere online, include:

• UNRWA’s Al-Zaytun Elementary School (Gaza) glorified terrorists and encouraged martyrdom. In March 2022 and September 2021, fifth graders were taught to glorify Dalal Mughrabi, a terrorist who carried out the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre in which 38 Israeli civilians including 13 children were killed. Photos taken of a classroom blackboard show how she is presented as “the fighting leader” and a “hero” who is to be honored by naming children and streets after her.

Likewise, in September 2022, 5th-graders at the school were taught to admire as a “martyr” and “hero” Izz Ad-Din Al-Qassem, the namesake of Hamas’ military wing, who had preached the murder of Jews. On November 20, 2022, photos of a classroom blackboard from Social Studies class in the 5th grade Class 9 of the fifth grade show a map labeled Palestine. The map includes the State of Israel – a UN member state, and marks areas and cities in Israel such as Haifa, Jaffa, Acre, and Beersheba as part of Palestine.

• UNRWA’s Al-Maghazi Middle School for Boys B (Gaza) endorsed violence, demonized Israel, and encouraged martyrdom. In December 2022, an UNRWA-created Arabic reading comprehension exercise for 9th graders celebrated a Palestinian firebombing attack on a Jewish bus as a “barbecue party.”

Another UNRWA-created text, taught to 9th-graders at the school posted in December 2022, demonized Israelis as sadistic predators looking for prey by teaching reading comprehension using graphic descriptions of Israelis brutally murdering Palestinians in entirely fictional stories. A “Zionist officer” deliberately shoots to death a Palestinian fisherman in front of his son in Gaza for being late to shore. The graphic text describes a “fountain of blood bursting from his chest.” In addition, 5th-graders at the school learned that martyrdom and jihad are “the most important meanings of life” through an exercise practicing vocabulary and grammar in Arabic language Learning material posted in September 2022.

• UNRWA’s Tel Al-Hawa Middle School (Gaza) endorsed violence, demonized Israel, and promoted antisemitism. An UNRWA-created social studies lesson posted in September 2022 instilled in 9th-grade students the message that “armed struggle” against Israel is a “divine right.” Another September 2022 UNRWA-created 9th grade social studies text spreads antisemitic propaganda by teaching the libel that Israel infects Palestinians with cancer by dumping toxic waste in the West Bank and Gaza.

• UNRWA’s Asma Middle School for Girls B encouraged schoolgirls to liberate the homeland by sacrificing “their Blood” and pursuing jihad.  UNRWA-created Arabic language material posted in September 2022 for the 6th grade includes an exercise promoting sacrificing one’s life—“the most precious thing” a person has—for the homeland as an obligation and to sacrifice “their blood.”  A  grammar exercise states that “I will commit jihad to liberate the homeland” and “I will not give up a centimeter of my land.” The last sentence further indicates students are taught to reject any territorial compromise with Israel.

Western Countries Fund UNRWA’s $1.6 Billion Budget

These teachers of hate 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.

UNRWA’s Response: Kill the Messenger

Despite numerous prior requests and detailed evidence, UNRWA has failed to fire teachers who incite to racism and terrorism and routinely continues to produce and distribute institutional teaching material containing violence, hatred and antisemitism.

“UNRWA should therefore be considered complicit in its staff members’ misconduct, says UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer.

“Around the world, educators who incite hate and violence are removed. Yet UNRWA, despite proclaiming ‘zero tolerance’ for incitement, systematically employs preachers of anti-Jewish hate and terrorism. Let us be clear: the problem is not the social media posts, but rather the employment of teachers who preach antisemitism and terrorism,” said Neuer.

UNRWA’s response to previous cases exposed in the past was to deny or downplay the problem, and to attack the messenger. Only when pressed by donors did UNRWA carry out a small number of investigations which led to a handful of temporary staff suspensions or admit that its teachers had “mistakenly” produced and distributed “inappropriate material.”

“A mere slap on the wrist to teachers of hate only sends the message that it’s business as usual. Instead, those who incite to racism or murder should be fired, under a zero-tolerance policy, just as the UK government banned a teacher from the classroom for life over an antisemitic Facebook post,” said Neuer.

Call to Action

The report calls on UNRWA’s donor states to:

• Demand that UNRWA implement its stated Zero Tolerance policy for employees who incite racism or murder, and immediately terminate them
• Establish an independent investigation into systemic incitement to antisemitism and terrorism among UNRWA teachers and other staff, and in UNRWA educational materials, and recommend remedial action.
• Determine and disclose which of the people identified as having posted terrorist and antisemitic incitement on social media or being involved in producing and distributing teaching materials that violate UN values and UNESCO standards of education is still employed by UNRWA.
• Instruct UNRWA to stop defaming UN Watch and IMPACT-se for exposing UNRWA’s neutrality violations.

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GENEVA, June 23, 2022 — As the U.S. and other Western states gather today at the United Nations in the presence of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to pledge funding for the UN agency that runs schools and social services for Palestinians, a watchdog group urged democracies to stop funding hundreds of UNRWA teachers and other employees who call to murder Jews.

In a new 42-page report, the independent non-governmental organization UN Watch today exposed antisemitism and incitement to terrorism propagated recently by 10 UNRWA teachers and other employees. This is in addition to more than 100 UNRWA educators and staff previously exposed published by the non-governmental organization UN Watch, an independent human rights monitoring group based in Geneva.

The latest 10 UNRWA teachers and other staffers to be exposed are:

1. Nihaya Awad, Computer Teacher at UNRWA West Bank, Praises Hamas
2. Abu Muhammad Fathi Bahar, UNRWA Lebanon Employee, Promotes Violence
3. Elham Mansour (Teacher, UNRWA Lebanon), Incites Killing Israelis and Jews
4. Hana’a Daoud (Teacher, UNRWA Jordan), Advocates Killing Jews
5. Sameer Abo Ayyash (Social Worker, UNRWA Jordan), Admires Taliban
6. Majed Zaben (Teacher, UNRWA Jordan), Incites Against Israel
7. Adel Torbani (Math Teacher, UNRWA Jordan), Rejects Israel’s Right to Exist and Posts Antisemitism
8. Qusai Mansi (Employee, UNRWA Jordan), Equates Zionists with Nazis
9. Rula Om Mo’awia (Teacher, UNRWA Jordan), Incites Against Israel
10. Muneera Abu Hadeel (Midwife, UNRWA West Bank), Portrays Israel as Thieving Dog

UN Watch’s new report uncovers 20 new cases of virulent incitement, committed by 10 UNRWA teachers and other staff, in violation of the agency’s own rules and stated values of zero tolerance for racism, discrimination or antisemitism.

UN Watch submitted the findings today to EU foreign affairs commissioner Joseph Borell, and U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, whose governments are among the top funders of UNRWA, and 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.

As revealed by UN Watch today, UNRWA staff stationed in the West Bank, Lebanon and Jordan are publicly inciting antisemitism and terrorism.

Examples of UNRWA staff hatred include:

• UNRWA West Bank computer teacher Nihaya Awad endorsed Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli civilians after last year’s war and encouraged Palestinian terrorists’ exploitation of child soldiers, in a May 21, 2021 post on Facebook. This was only two months after one of UNRWA’s directors, Gwyn Lewis, sent Ms. Awad a certificate of appreciation for her “fantastic efforts” as a “best performer” in UNRWA education. “We are proud that you are part of the UNRWA team,” wrote Lewis on March 23, 2021.

• UNRWA Lebanon teacher Elham Mansour last month, on May 11, 2022, posted on Facebook that “By Allah, anyone who can kill and slaughter any Zionist and Israeli criminal, and doesn’t do so, doesn’t deserve to live. Kill them and pursue them everywhere, they are the greatest enemy….All Israel deserves is death.”Two months ago, on April 15, 2022, this UNRWA teacher posted a message on Facebook addressed to “you filthy Zionists” in which she called on “the men of resistance” at the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem to “slaughter each and every one of you and toss you into the garbage heaps, because you are filthy, you contaminate any land you are in.”Last year, on May 14, 2021, Ms. Mansour wrote: “Israel is evil. . . fight them and kill them, chase them everywhere, every corner, every street, our greatest enemy is Israel, death and destruction to you…”Notably, Ms. Mansour’s posts are liked by several other UNRWA teachers, as was the case with many of the antisemitic UNRWA posts exposed in our prior reports. This underscores how the problem of UNRWA employing staff who propagate antisemitic hate and incitement is not merely due to “a few bad apples,” as UNRWA has claimed. The antisemitic poison is systemic.

• UNRWA Jordan teacher Hana’a Daoud posted a photo of masked Hamas terrorists holding submachine guns and called on Muslims to “fight against the Jews, until a Jew will hide himself behind a stone or a tree, and the stone or the tree will say: ‘O Muslim, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’”

Western States Fund UNRWA’s Teachers of Hate

These teachers of hate were funded last year by state donations to UNRWA including $338 million from the United States, $177 million from Germany, $118 million from the European Commission, $54 million from Sweden, $40 million from the UK, $32 million from Switzerland, $30 million from Norway, $28 million from France, $28 million from Canada, and $27 million from the Netherlands.

UN Watch found the 20 new cases of antisemitic incitement on UNRWA employees’ public pages, where teachers and other staff celebrated and promoted violence, even among young children.

Comment by UN Watch

UN Watch further reveals that despite its numerous prior requests and submission of detailed evidence, UNRWA has failed to fire teachers who incite to racism and terrorism.

“UNRWA should therefore be considered complicit in its staff members’ misconduct, says UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer.

“Around the world, educators who incite hate and violence are removed. Yet UNRWA, despite proclaiming ‘zero tolerance’ for incitement, systematically employs preachers of anti-Jewish hate and terrorism.

“We call on the governments that fund UNRWA, as they gather at the United Nations to announce new pledges, 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 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.”

UNRWA’s response to previous cases exposed in the past was to deny or downplay the problem, and to attack the messenger. Only when pressed by donors did UNRWA carry out a small number of investigations which led to a handful of temporary staff suspensions.

“A mere slap on the wrist to teachers of hate only sends the message that it’s business as usual. Instead, those who incite to racism or murder should be fired, under a zero-tolerance policy, just as the UK government banned a teacher from the classroom for life over an antisemitic Facebook post,” said Neuer.

.@UNLazzarini @antonioguterres: Today when you ask the U.S., UK, Germany, France, EU & Canada to pledge hundreds of millions for UNRWA, when will you stop employing hundreds of teachers who call to murder Jews, as we exposed today on @i24NEWS_EN?

Full: https://t.co/NhQfR2CGIo https://t.co/pPpzHAf7p1 pic.twitter.com/4yESBwZkEs

— UN Watch (@UNWatch) June 23, 2022

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GENEVA, August 2, 2021 — The UN agency that runs schools and social services for Palestinians is facing calls to fire employees using social media to celebrate attacks on Israelis and promote anti-Jewish hatred.

Over 100 UNRWA educators and staff have publicly promoted violence and antisemitism on social media, according to a new report published by the non-governmental organization UN Watch, an independent human rights group based in Geneva.

The report, entitled “Beyond the Textbooks,” uncovers 22 recent cases of UNRWA staff incitement which clearly violate the agency’s own rules as well as its proclaimed values of zero tolerance for racism, discrimination or antisemitism. UN Watch is calling on the agency’s major funders — including the U.S., Germany, the UK and the European Union — to hold UNRWA accountable to its own standards and commitments.

As revealed in the report, UNRWA staff stationed in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan have publicly incited antisemitism and terrorism. Among the educators who have used their personal social media channels for such propaganda are UNRWA Gaza math teacher Nahed Sharawi, who shared a video of Adolf Hitler with inspirational quotes to “enrich and enlighten your thoughts and minds.” Husni Masri, an UNRWA teacher in the West Bank, posted antisemitic conspiracy theories according to which Jews control the world, created the coronavirus and seek to destroy Islam.

UN Watch’s report lists a total of 113 cases that it managed to capture from UNRWA employees’ public pages alone, all celebrating and promoting violence, even among young children. The watchdog group only examined a sample of Facebook users who publicly identified themselves as UNRWA employees, and estimates that the actual number of UNRWA staff who incite violence and hatred includes many more of the agency’s 30,000 staff.

UN Watch further reveals that despite its numerous prior requests and submission of detailed evidence, UNRWA has failed to fire teachers who incite to racism and terrorism, nor has it taken any other meaningful action. UNRWA should therefore be considered complicit in its staff members’ misconduct, says UN Watch.

UN Watch Director, Hillel Neuer: “Around the world, educators who incite hate and violence are removed, yet UNRWA, despite proclaiming zero tolerance for incitement, knowingly and systematically employs purveyors of terror and anti-Jewish hate.

“We call on the governments that fund UNWRA to take action to stop the vicious cycle of generations being taught to hate and violently attack Jews. We demand that UNRWA address the core problem, and demonstrate its genuine commitment to basic norms of education in its schools, by publicly condemning UNWRA employees who incite terrorism and antisemitism, removing them from their positions, and creating an independent and impartial investigation of all of its staff.”

Click here for the PDF of the report

Among UNWRA teachers and staff exposed in the report are the following:

1. Nahed Sharawi, Math Teacher at UNRWA, Posts Hitler Video 
2. Ibrahim Sabbagh (Abu Khalil), UNRWA Teacher in Syria, Incites Violence & Rejects Israel’s Right to Exist
3. Shady Shehada, Project Engineer at UNRWA in Gaza, Celebrates Munich Massacre of Israeli Olympic Athletes
4. Ahmad Almasri, UNRWA Laboratory Worker, Praises Terrorist & Erases Israel From the Map
5. Sarah Mousa, UNRWA Intern Engineer, Glorifies Terrorists
6. Saeed Khalaf Abu Freh, Math Teacher at UNRWA in Jordan, Incites Terrorism
7. Maya Mahahi, UNRWA English Teacher, Glorifies Terrorism
8. Abdul Salam Muhammad Alimat(Abu Alim), Arabic Teacher at UNRWA, Advocates Violence & Antisemitism
9. “Allah the Helper”, UNRWA Employee, Endorses Violence
10. Abu Arafa Abu Sorour, UNRWA Employee, Posts Antisemitic Video
11. Hossam Ahmed, UNRWA Employee, Justifies Nazi Murder of Jews
12. Mohammad Atiyea, Instructor at UNRWA, Commemorates Palestinian Murderers of Jews
13. Ayat Said, UNRWA Web Developer, Glorifies 1929 Anti-Jewish Attacks
14. Esraa Abedalraheem, UNRWA English Teacher, Posts Content Teaching Children That Israel Has No Right to Exist
15. Husni Masri, UNRWA Teacher in West Bank, Peddles Conspiracy That Jews Created COVID-19
16. Nidal Krayyem, English Teacher at UNRWA, Rejects Israel and Advocates Violence
17. Fatima Abu Mufreh, Math Teacher at UNRWA, Promotes Terrorism Against Israel
18. Fahed Momo, UNRWA Administrative Assistant, Quotes Hitler & Denies Israel’s Right to Exist
19. Mohammed M. Alhourani, Head of Health Center at UNRWA, Promotes Antisemitism
20. Akram Ayoub, UNRWA Project Assistant, Celebrates Murderer
21. Nadim Elhaj, UNRWA Employee, Promotes Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories
22. Awad Abedallah, UNRWA School Principal and Teacher, Posts Map Eliminating Israel

The Executive Summary follows below.

#######

Beyond the Textbooks

A REPORT EXPOSING UNRWA TEACHERS’
INCITEMENT TO ANTISEMITISM AND TERRORISM

This report documents systematic incitement to antisemitism and terrorism by teachers, school principals and other staff at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and calls on its major funders, including the U.S., Germany, the UK and the European Union, to finally hold UNRWA accountable to its own rules and commitments.

On April 7, 2021, the Biden administration announced its decision to renew funding to the Palestinians, including $150 million to UNRWA. By July 2021, it was reported that the U.S. funding to UNRWA for 2021 rose to $313.8 million.

In this regard, the State Department’s proposed FY22 budget contains provisions requiring the State Department to report to the Senate Appropriations Committee prior to the release of funds to UNRWA on whether UNWRA is “acting promptly to address any staff…violations of…neutrality and impartiality” and whether it is taking steps to ensure the content of UNRWA’s educational materials “is consistent with the values of human rights, dignity, and tolerance and does not induce incitement.”

In a June 8 hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee on the proposed budget, Secretary of State Blinken confirmed that the U.S. is “determined that UNRWA pursue very necessary reforms in terms of some of the abuses of the system that have taken place in the past,” particularly dissemination of “antisemitic or anti-Israel information” in education.

According to a senior State Department official, “UNWRA has made clear their rock-solid commitments to the United States on the issues of transparency, accountability, and neutrality in all its operations,” adding that “what neutrality means in the context of the United Nations is zero tolerance for racism, discrimination, and antisemitism.”

Similar commitments were given by UNRWA in its Framework for Cooperation agreement with the U.S., signed on July 14, 2021, in which the agency condemns incitement to violence and antisemitism, undertakes not to support terrorism directly or indirectly, affirms that UNRWA and its staff “cannot take sides in hostilities or engage in controversies of a political, racial or religious or ideological nature,” and promises “clear, consistent and prompt administrative action for staff violations of UNRWA’s Neutrality Framework.”

Contrary to these claims and commitments, however, UN Watch has found that UNRWA has a very high tolerance for antisemitism. As summarized in the list of perpetrators published as Annex A of this report, UN Watch has exposed more than 100 UNRWA staff and school Facebook pages containing incitement to antisemitism and terrorism. These were revealed in six separate reports published between September 2015 and September 2019.

Although UNRWA received our reports and is well aware of the problem, the agency continues to systematically employ schoolteachers, principals and other staffers who openly support terrorism and antisemitism.

In the last several months, UNRWA has fundraised extensively for its education, which it claims shapes UNRWA students to be “responsible global citizens with an appreciation for human rights and hope for the future.”

This report, however, documents more than 100 UNRWA staffers, including 22 new examples, of UNRWA staffers in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, who incite antisemitism and terrorism, in gross violation of United Nations and UNRWA internal policies concerning staff neutrality and impartiality.

Were UNRWA itself to examine its employees, on and off Facebook, it can reasonably be estimated that thousands of UNRWA employees would be implicated.

Click here for the PDF of the report

It's not just the textbooks. It's the teachers.

Our new report reveals how the UN agency that runs schools for Palestinians knowingly hires teachers who celebrate attacks on Israelis & propagate anti-Jewish hate.

See the 100 @UNRWA names on our blacklist:https://t.co/OCE4ZdJVQ7

— UN Watch (@UNWatch) August 2, 2021

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