The UN announced Friday that it had closed or suspended five cases out of 19 targeting employees of its agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) accused by Israel of being involved in the bloody Hamas attacks on October 7.
These accusations have plunged UNRWA into turmoil and caused a drop in its funding, at a time when the Gaza Strip, besieged and bombarded by Israel, is facing a humanitarian disaster, including the risk of large-scale famine.
The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) has “investigated 19 UNRWA personnel”, the first 12 accused by Israel in January and whose contracts were “terminated” as well as seven others having been flagged by the following, announced the office of the spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
Of the first 12, “one case was closed, Israel having provided no evidence to support the accusations made against the employee”, and three others were “suspended, the information provided by Israel n “being not sufficient to allow the OIOS to carry out an investigation,” he said in a press release. Regarding the seven new cases, one of them was also “suspended pending receipt of additional evidence,” according to the spokesperson’s office. In total, 14 employees are therefore still under investigation.
“Constructive” discussions
Investigators traveled to Israel for discussions with authorities and another visit is planned for May, the same source added. These discussions are “constructive” and “helped advance the investigations”.
These announcements come days after the unveiling of a report by an independent assessment mission on the “neutrality” of UNRWA in Gaza.
This agency lacks political “neutrality” but Israel has not yet provided “proof” of alleged links of certain members to “terrorist organizations”, concluded this group of experts chaired by the former French Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna.
The report also stressed that “UNRWA remains crucial in providing vital humanitarian assistance” to Palestinian refugees in Gaza but also in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied West Bank.
Israeli accusations had led several donor countries to suspend their funding of UNRWA. Many have since taken it up, with the exception of the United States, Israel’s first ally. UNRWA has more than 30,000 employees serving 5.9 million Palestinians in the region.