UN “Will Not Respond” to Investigation Exposing Agency’s Ties to Islamic Terror Groups
Neuer: “The audacity of the UN in refusing to respond is staggering — a shameful abdication of accountability, especially given the serious nature of the allegations”
GENEVA, January 9, 2025 – The UN is refusing to address the findings of an investigation into UNRWA management’s ties to Hamas and Islamic Jihad, on grounds that the 50-page report was revealed in the media instead of being sent directly to the UN.
“We’re not going to respond to yet another report from UN Watch,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters in a Tuesday briefing, saying the world body’s officials “appreciate information being given to us directly, instead of done through the media.”
Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, a Geneva-based non-governmental organization, said he was “astonished at the audacity of the UN’s stance.”
“The UN spokesman claims they won’t respond to our report because we didn’t provide the evidence to them beforehand. Yet that is exactly what we have been trying to do these past few months, in repeated letters and appeals requesting to meet.”
“We urge Western donor states to take note that our new report reveals how UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini regularly meets with the leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups, and yet by contrast he has systematically declined our requests to meet,” Neuer said.
“I urged to meet with him ahead of his visit to Geneva on June 25, and his visit to Lausanne on August 1. I was right next to him on both occasions, yet he refused to to receive our evidence of UNRWA terror ties. Neither would he meet with me in New York in November, despite our repeated public appeals for him to receive our dossier. UNRWA won’t respond to our letters and emails, and pressures groups to disinvite me from panels where they appear.”
“The audacity of the UN in refusing to respond to our detailed report, while dismissing our efforts to engage directly, is staggering,” Neuer added. “It’s a shameful abdication of accountability, especially given the serious nature of the allegations.”
UNRWA employs terror advocates, facilitates violence in Middle East, new watchdog report finds
GENEVA, January 9, 2025 – A bombshell new investigation from international human rights group UN Watch exposes the disturbing links between the UNRWA and Palestinian terror organizations. According to the report, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have not only infiltrated the $1.5 billion UN-funded agency but are actively influencing its operations and fueling violence against Israelis.
The explosive findings reveal that UNRWA has employed Hamas militants, allowing the terror group to interfere with key agency policies and operations in Gaza and Lebanon.
UN Watch is calling for the immediate dismantling of UNRWA, saying the organization has become a conduit for terrorism and a facilitator of violence in the Middle East.
“UNRWA isn’t just a bystander in the Arab-Israeli conflict – it’s a primary enabler,” observes Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch. “By allowing terrorists to infiltrate its ranks and incite violence, UNRWA isn’t promoting peace, they’re perpetuating hatred and war.”
The report includes images of terror leaders with UNRWA officials, and details years of instances where leadership of the UN agency closely cooperated with terror groups in secret. The report implicates many members of UNRWA leadership, including current-UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
“People need to understand that UNRWA isn’t the firefighter, it’s the arsonist. The U.S. and other Western nations who have given billions to UNRWA need to wake up. Your money is being used to employ terrorists, indoctrinate children, and build the infrastructure of hate and violence. The U.S. alone has given more than $1 billion to UNRWA over the past four years. This is a betrayal of your taxpayers and your values.”
“The time has finally come to dismantle UNRWA, an agency that glorifies terrorism,” said Neuer.
