Israel has banned UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. The decision didn’t come out of the blue. The Jewish state has been warning the UN and international community for years that the problem with UNRWA needed resolving. The October 7th terror attacks on Israel and the ensuing conflict with Hamas that followed has only further highlighted the inadequacy of the UN body.
Israel’s decision was met with outrage from world politicians, with Keir Starmer among those criticising Israel, and with the UN threatening to suspend Israel’s membership.
Since it was founded in 1949, UNRWA, which is funded by UN donor states of which Britain is one, has failed to resettle a single Palestinian refugee. Rather than helping genuine Palestinian refugees, UNRWA has exploited their status and the welfare of ordinary Palestinians in order to sustain a victimhood narrative against Israel.
The Palestinian territories is the only region supported by UNRWA, with all other worldwide refugees being served by the UNHCR. Yet, in 80 years it has failed to come close to bringing any kind of hope or resolve to the Palestinian people, because of the UN’s obsession with bias against Israel.
Over the past few years, UNRWA has become known for running schools in the Palestinian territories that promote the most sickening antisemitic content, with curriculum that demonises Jews, glorifies terrorism, celebrates martyrdom, and radicalises generations of Palestinian children to hate Israel. This institutional radicalisation has played a significant role in perpetuating conflict by Hamas against Israel.
Despite this antisemitic curriculum being acknowledged by Western governments, including the US and UK, little has been done to resolve the problem.
After the October 7th terrorist attacks, it became clearer that the problem extends far beyond the indoctrination. It is estimated that roughly 10 percent of UNRWA’s 30,000 employees are members of either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Israel identified 12 UNRWA staff members it says directly participated in the October 7th massacre, murdering, radicalising and kidnapping Israelis. Ten have been sacked by UNRWA following the revelations and two are confirmed dead.
During Israel’s war against Hamas, UNRWA facilities have provided shelter for Hamas’s terror activities, including in schools and medical clinics. Terror tunnels have been discovered under UNRWA schools and hospitals. Hostages have testified about being held captive in the homes of UNRWA staff members. It is also alleged that funding for UNRWA has ended up in the hands of Hamas.
Despite the United Nations knowing about the deeply embedded radicalisation within UNRWA it has stood by and done nothing. Israel has been calling for reform within the UNRWA, but the world has turned a blind eye. One of its main funders, the United Kingdom, halted funding earlier this year, but resumed it immediately when the new Labour government came into power in the summer. Israel is hoping that the bill passed this week banning UNRWA will force the West to think again.
But the backlash has been largely centred around concern about the impact that Israel’s decision will have on aid to Gaza. However, aid has not stopped. Israel has suggested humanitarian help is carried out by other agencies including the UNICEF or the UN Refugee Agency (UNHRC). These seem like common sense suggestions. The question will be whether what is more important to the UN and western leaders: Israel’s security against terror and aid to genuine Palestinian civilians, or Israel’s vulnerability, aid exploited by Hamas, and another generation indoctrinated with Jew-hatred.
