UN review finds insufficient evidence for Israeli claims against UNRWA
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The report was commissioned by the UN immediately after "Israel" leveled accusations against UNRWA's employees.
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Palestinians walk through the destruction left by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip in Gaza City, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024 (AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar)
According to an independent review conducted by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, "Israel" has still not provided substantial evidence to prove that UNRWA staffers are affiliated with resistance groups.
"Israel made public claims that a significant number of UNRWA employees are members of terrorist organizations," the Colonna report reads. "However, Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence of this."
The report was commissioned by the UN immediately after "Israel" leveled accusations against UNRWA's employees. It states that the agency routinely provided "Israel" with rosters of its personnel for screening and that "the Israeli government has not informed UNRWA of any concerns relating to any UNRWA staff based on these staff lists since 2011."
"Israel's" allegations caused several donors to suspend funding for the agency, widely regarded as an important lifeline for Palestinians in Gaza. While most donors started resuming funding, a few cases remain, including the UK and the US, the latter of which voted to permanently ban funding after the allegations were raised.
"Israeli authorities have to date not provided any supporting evidence nor responded to letters from UNRWA in March, and again in April, requesting the names and supporting evidence that would enable UNRWA to open an investigation," the report says.
Read more: 'Israel' proposes plan to UN for dismantling UNRWA
On Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced his acceptance of the recommendations outlined in the Colonna report regarding methods to enhance UNRWA's ability to monitor and tackle neutrality concerns.
"Moving forward, the Secretary-General appeals to all stakeholders to actively support Unrwa, as it is a lifeline for Palestine refugees in the region," the UN chief spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said in a statement.
The Colonna review further highlights the indispensable role of UNRWA in supporting Palestinians across the region.
"In the absence of a political solution between Israel and the Palestinians, UNRWA remains pivotal in providing life-saving humanitarian aid and essential social services, particularly in health and education, to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank," the review says.
"As such, UNRWA is irreplaceable and indispensable to Palestinians’ human and economic development. In addition, many view UNRWA as a humanitarian lifeline."
Read more: UNRWA reports 176 employees killed since onset of war on Gaza
The Colonna review offers suggestions for enhancing neutrality safeguards for UNRWA's staff, including expanding the internal oversight service, providing more training, and increasing support from donor countries. It notes the observation that UNRWA's current measures are already more rigorous than those of similar institutions.
The review further notes that UNRWA has established numerous mechanisms to ensure compliance with humanitarian principles, particularly neutrality, surpassing other comparable UN or NGO entities in this regard.
Regarding Israeli criticisms of UNRWA's schools allegedly using Palestinian Authority textbooks with antisemitic content, the report from the Nordic institutions found limited evidence supporting these allegations. Three international assessments of PA textbooks in recent years provided an impartial view, with two identifying bias and antagonistic content but not antisemitism. The third assessment, by the Georg Eckert Institute, found two examples of antisemitic motifs, one of which had already been removed, and the other altered.
