UN closes investigation of UNRWA members – DW – 04/27/2024

The United Nations closed an internal investigation into Israeli allegations that 19 members of the Palestinian refugee agency took part in terrorist group Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel, due to a lack of evidence, this Friday (04/26/2024) Was told. ,

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNRWA) was the center of controversy in January, when Israel accused 12 of its 30,000 staff of involvement in a Hamas attack that killed about 1,160 people on Israeli soil, according to official figures. , most of whom were civilians.

The UN immediately fired the staff members involved and launched an internal investigation to evaluate the agency’s impartiality, led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonnade.

Investigation of other 7 cases is pending

In recent weeks, the United Nations reportedly received information from seven other UNRWA staff linked to the attack, prompting further investigation.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric reported that the case against one of the initial group of 12 UNRWA members was closed because “Israel did not provide evidence to support the allegations.” “We are exploring the possibility of taking corrective administrative action in that individual’s case,” he said.

Additionally, investigations into three other employees were suspended because “the information provided by Israel is not sufficient.”

One of the seven new cases was even suspended pending additional evidence from Israel. Dujarric said the investigation into the other accused employees is ongoing.

are “critical areas”

An interim report published in March found that “UNRWA has implemented a significant number of mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with the humanitarian principle of neutrality.”

However, the researchers also “identified important areas that still require attention,” he said.

About 15 countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany and Japan, stopped funding UNRWA following Israel’s allegations. Canada and Sweden were in that group, but they have resumed sending aid to the agency.

According to the Hamas-led health ministry, UNRWA is the largest aid organization present in Gaza and employs about 13,000 people in the territory, where Israeli bombardment has killed at least 34,356 people, most of them women and children. .

gs (AFP, AP)