Staffers for a United Nations agency that dishes out massive amounts of Palestinian aid "immediately celebrated and justified" the Hamas terror attacks against Israel on Oct. 7, according to a new report.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, works alongside Palestinian refugees and has long come under fire from national security experts and members of Congress for terror affiliations, though UNRWA recently tried to walk back a claim that Hamas intercepted humanitarian supplies in connection to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Meanwhile, 20 UNRWA teachers and other staff members expressed support for Hamas recently on social media, UN Watch, a nonprofit group based in Switzerland, said in a 68-page report released Monday.
DEMOCRATS SPOOKED AFTER BIDEN SHOCK POLL AND FRET TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMEBACK
The Biden administration has steered hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to UNRWA and in 2021 expressed concerns about loosening sanctions on cash to Gaza over “a high risk Hamas could potentially derive indirect, unintentional benefit," according to documents obtained by the watchdog Protect the Public's Trust. The Trump administration halted Palestinian aid over terror concerns.
"We call on the governments that fund UNRWA to declare that they will stop enabling a system that teaches new generations of Palestinians to hate and murder Jews," UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer said. "Let us be clear: the problem is not the social media posts, but rather the unconscionable employment of teachers who preach antisemitism and terrorism."
Neuer added that the "hate that led to the October 7th massacre did not appear out of thin air" and "was inculcated at UNRWA schools over many years," pointing to his post on X, formerly known as Twitter, from Oct. 13 saying Hamas terrorist Amer Yaser Nazmi Sada's diploma from UNRWA was found in a car used to attack the Jewish state on Oct. 7. Since that day, over 1,400 Israelis and at least 33 Americans have been killed, according to officials for both countries. Hamas alleges over 10,000 people in Gaza have died in connection to the conflict, though the U.S. government scrutinizes the data as unreliable.
The release of the UN Watch report this week underscores how UNRWA is under the spotlight for its activities in Gaza, which has been controlled by Hamas since 2006.
UN Watch's report highlights, for instance, how UNRWA Gaza teacher Osama Ahmed posted on Facebook on the morning of Oct. 7, “Allah is Great, Allah is Great, reality surpasses our wildest dreams." Iman Hassan, a UNRWA school principal, justified the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 as “redressing” Palestinian "grievances," according to the report.
On Oct. 7, UNRWA English teacher Asmaa Raffia Kuhei posted on social media “7th, October, 2023! Sculpture the date!" along with a heart emoji, the report said. Hmada Ahmed, an agency school administrator, posted, "Welcome the great October," according to UN Watch.
Then there's UNRWA employee Rawia Helles, who called a Hamas terrorist a "hero" and "prince," said UN Watch.
"UN Watch has repeatedly made clear that the Facebook posts are merely a symptom of a much larger, systemic problem — the fact that UNRWA hires antisemitic and terrorist supporting staff in the first place, including some 20,000 teachers," the report said. "Given the findings in this report that UNRWA staff unabashedly rejoiced in Hamas atrocities on October 7th, UN Watch urges UNRWA to reexamine its approach."
In 2022 alone, UNRWA pulled in $344 million from the United States, $202 million from Germany, and $114 from the European Union, said UN Watch, noting that countries should be "demanding basic accountability and transparency from the agency."
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The State Department said in a report last year that two of UNRWA's schools had tunnels that terrorists used for covert operations, including transporting weapons, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency did not return a request for comment.