MK in Holland urges MPs: Hold UNRWA accountable, permanently cut funding

mk in holland urges mps: hold unrwa accountable, permanently cut funding

MK Sharren Haskel, co-chair of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, with Dutch MP Don Ceder.

The head of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus is urging Dutch lawmakers to permanently cut funding to UNRWA, citing allegations that some of its members are affiliated with Hamas and were involved in the October 7 Hamas massacre.

MK Sharren Haskel met with dozens of lawmakers in Holland last week in preparation for a foreign policy meeting this week, where the fate of UNRWA’s funding by the Dutch government may be determined.

“With the recent horrific reports verifying UNRWA employees’ complicity in the October 7 massacre, countries around the world are finally beginning to understand how this UN organization has long served as a right arm to terror,” Haskel said. “And while many, including the Netherlands, have halted funding of UNRWA, UNRWA needs to be completely dismantled, and those who allowed these atrocities to occur to be held fully accountable.”

Evidence of UNRWA complicity

In addition to a roundtable discussion that lasted more than an hour on February 7 at the Dutch House of Representatives in The Hague to an audience of Dutch Members of Parliament and Christian leaders, Haskel met personally with several MPs, including the leadership of all the major parties. She showed them letters from Hamas thanking UNRWA managers and educators for giving their staff and students time off to train before the massacre. She also presented other evidence linking the group to terrorism.

“I wanted to show them, this is not a few rotten apples, this is a body that is rotten to the core,” Haskel told The Jerusalem Post.

mk in holland urges mps: hold unrwa accountable, permanently cut funding

Israeli protesters hold placards as they demonstrate outside the UNRWA offices, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem February 5, 2024 (credit: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS)

Israeli protesters hold placards as they demonstrate outside the UNRWA offices, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Jerusalem February 5, 2024 (credit: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS)

UNRWA was established in 1949 to aid Arabs displaced from Israel during the 1948-49 War of Independence. However, it has extended refugee status to their descendants, keeping these families as refugees indefinitely. While initially serving around 750,000 refugees, the organization now supports nearly six million. According to Haskel, policies like these “perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and ensure there will never be a peaceful future for either of us.”

Former US President Donald Trump cut American funding to the organization in 2018, a policy that was reversed by President Joe Biden in 2021. Today, the US is UNRWA’s largest donor, providing upwards of $600 million in annual support.

“UNRWA has long been used as a weapon against Israel,” said Josh Reinstein, director of the Knesset’s Christian Allies Caucus. “Now the world is beginning to wake up.”

“We have been worried about the role that UNRWA plays in the conflict for a long time,” said Dutch MP Don Ceder.

“We have often warned about the hatred that’s taught in UNRWA-school books. Now that it turns out employees have actually been involved in horrible acts of terrorism, we can no longer avoid the discussion about the legitimacy of UNRWA itself.”

Haskel, who opened her UNRWA Reform caucus in the Knesset in 2015, said that if Holland or another European country permanently stopped funding UNRWA, it could start a chain reaction. She also stated that Israel has a historic window to make this happen right now.

Israeli Intelligence recently revealed that about 10% of UNRWA employees in Gaza belong to the Hamas terrorist organization. Furthermore, at least 12 UNRWA employees directly participated in the October 7 massacre, resulting in the murder of more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and around 250 people being taken captive in Gaza.

Additionally, Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet, has stated that Hamas diverts up to 60% of international aid meant for the people of Gaza.

Following these allegations, more than a dozen countries, including the United States, have temporarily suspended funding to UNRWA while investigations are underway.

The United Nations is conducting two separate investigations into UNRWA activities. One, led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, will be an independent external review. The other, focusing specifically on the 12 employees involved, is being carried out by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services. Additionally, UNRWA itself is conducting its own investigation.

“The establishment of an independent review group to assess UNRWA’s neutrality following the publication of information indicating the participation of agency employees in terror activities is a positive step, although it is long overdue,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement on Friday.

He warned that the review group should include research institutes with relevant professional experience, including counter-terrorism, security and vetting procedures.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu charged Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi to find new ways to give aid in Gaza instead of using UNRWA. The Foreign Ministry has suggested two options: the UN’s World Food Program, which already helps distribute food worldwide, or USAID, a US agency that provides civilian foreign aid and development assistance and has done some smaller projects in Gaza.

However, a report by the Wall Street Journal last week said that the administration is “quietly pushing” to allow UNRWA to continue operating in the short term in meetings with top US and UN officials.

Haskel said that many members of Israel’s parliament only want to discuss replacing UNRWA when the war ends “because this is a discussion for the day after, but we do not have time.”

She said, “We are being given the opportunity to change our future. If we lose this opportunity, God knows if we will get it again.”

News Related

OTHER NEWS

Jimmy Carter and all living former first ladies to attend Rosalynn Carter’s memorial service

Former President Jimmy Carter is expected to attend the Tuesday memorial service for his late wife, Rosalynn Carter, in Atlanta, his grandson told CNN – a tribute that will also be ... Read more »

Rob Reiner to Film ‘This Is Spinal Tap' Sequel in February, Says Paul McCartney and Elton John Will Appear

Rob Reiner to Film ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ Sequel in February, Says Paul McCartney and Elton John Will Appear Forty years after making his directorial debut with the 1984 cult ... Read more »

Best Buy's Biggest Cyber Monday Deals on Samsung TVs, Sony Headphones, and Dyson Vacuums

Plus laptops and more last-minute deals you don’t want to miss People / Jaclyn Mastropasqua We have reached Cyber Monday is officially here, and there are loads of great deals ... Read more »

The Joffre Lakes surge returns north of Pemberton

The Joffre Lakes surge is back, much to the dismay of Pemberton and Mount Currie locals. Video footage shared with Pique shows a long line of cars illegally parked on ... Read more »

Activists calling for Gaza ceasefire begin hunger strike outside White House

Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images Leftwing activists including the actor Cynthia Nixon, famous for her role in Sex and the City, have begun a hunger strike outside the White House aimed ... Read more »

We just got a first look at McDonald's secretive new spinoff restaurant CosMc's

A construction site in Bolingbrook, Illinois, presumed to be the first location of CosMc’s. Scott Fredrickson McDonald’s has been reluctant to share many details about its planned new restaurant concept ... Read more »

Conor McGregor’s The Black Forge posts more than $2 million in losses since 2021 opening

Conor McGregor’s The Black Forge posts more than $2 million in losses since 2021 opening Conor McGregor made around a $2 million investment when he purchased the Dublin bar he ... Read more »
Top List in the World