Contrary to their officially stated goals, UNRWA supports Hamas, recognized by the US State Department as a terrorist organization, and exploits the plight of Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip to raise additional funds that pay inflated salaries.
Supporting the status quo means that UNRWA can be counted on to support the new Hamas government, so long as Hamas enables UNRWA’s continued existence.
UNRWA is only too eager to provide the services that Hamas does not, cannot, or chooses not to. Hamas can continue to divert international monies that should be earmarked for food or electricity to the stockpiling of weapons and the creation of anti-Israel or anti-American propaganda as long as UNRWA provides the services that the negligent Hamas government should fulfill.
In this way, UNRWA is undermining the Western strategy of weakening the Hamas government in Gaza to encourage the return of Palestinian Authority rule under President Mahmoud Abbas.
UNRWA does not seem to have a problem with Hamas’ Islamist agenda. It has not condemned the brutal Hamas violence that enabled the terrorist group to take the Gaza Strip by force in June. UNRWA waited to see who would win the battle, then immediately indicated to Hamas that it was eager to get back to providing its services.
an internal UNRWA ethics report leaked by the press in late July contained shocking allegations of “sexual misconduct, nepotism, retaliation, discrimination and other abuses of authority, for personal gain, to suppress legitimate dissent, and to otherwise achieve their personal objectives.” UN investigators are now reviewing these initial findings.
The internal ethics report found that UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl created a senior advisory role for Maria Mohammedi, with whom he was romantically involved, allowing her to take business class flights with him across the globe. Krahenbuhl, Mohammedi and others circumvented regular decision channels and created a toxic work environment, according to the report. While Krahenbuhl is holding on, UNRWA’s deputy commissioner-general and chief of staff have resigned as a result of abuses separate from those allegedly committed by their boss.
As the West searches for ways to weaken Hamas in Gaza, UNRWA should be an obvious target. UNRWA provides food, medicine, economic aid, jobs, radical education, political opportunities, and even logistical assistance to Hamas and other extremist groups. UNRWA’s budget, which exceeds $365 million, is funded by many nations, but the United States and other Western nations are the largest contributors. Cutting off UNRWA’s budget would be detrimental to Hamas in Gaza. It would also send an important message to the United Nations, which perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem and lends legitimacy to groups like Hamas through UNRWA’s continued existence.