U.N. Finds Palestinian Refugee Agency Suffers From Political Bias

The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency must do more to ensure its employees are politically neutral and aren’t teaching biased content in its schools in Gaza and the West Bank, a U.N.-ordered investigation found Monday.

Despite “robust” procedures at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, known as Unrwa, to uphold the U.N. principle of neutrality, the review found antisemitic content in some textbooks used by Unrwa schools and dozens of biased social-media posts by employees.

“Even if marginal, these issues constitute a grave violation of neutrality,” the U.N. report said, noting that some textbooks included maps that didn’t mention Israel and labeled Jerusalem the capital of Palestine, which is unrecognized by Israel, the U.S. and most of Western Europe.

The probe was launched after the U.S. and other donors suspended funding to the agency in January in response to accusations that at least a dozen employees in Gaza took part in the Hamas attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, in which 1,200 people were killed and 240 kidnapped.

The investigation released Monday and headed by Catherine Colonna, a former French foreign minister, didn’t address those accusations, which are being examined in a separate probe.

“We have long made clear that there needs to be reforms at Unrwa, and we would welcome the U.N. making the reforms that former foreign minister Colonna made in her report,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Monday.

Miller added that the U.S. still considers Unrwa “indispensable in providing and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian assistance, not just in Gaza, but in the broader region.”

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Israeli intelligence had found that more than 10% of Unrwa employees had links to Hamas, a U.S. designated terror group, including hundreds in its militant wing. The U.N. investigation said that Israel hadn’t provided supporting evidence of those claims, though Israeli security officials dispute that.

Following Israel’s claims that some Unrwa employees, including teachers, took part in the October attacks, most of Unrwa’s major donor countries halted their funding. That included the U.S., which last year alone contributed around $422 million to the agency’s annual budget of $1.4 billion.

Unrwa fired the employees suspected of taking part in the Oct. 7 attacks. The U.N. has 50 probes under way of alleged violations of its neutrality policies by Unrwa, according to the report.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement Monday that he would implement Colonna’s recommendations, which include strengthening the agency’s internal oversight and hiring more international staff in senior managerial positions.

“The Secretary-General appeals to all stakeholders to actively support Unrwa, as it is a lifeline for Palestine refugees in the region,” the statement said.

Since the accusations surfaced, the agency has warned it will have to scale back its humanitarian work in Gaza without more funding.

The agency has been the main provider of humanitarian aid, supplying the enclave’s population with food and shelter and education, as well as logistical support to other U.N. and aid groups there. Around 3,000 of its staff play a key role in delivering aid and primary services. The vast majority of Unrwa employees are Palestinians.

Initially set up in 1949 to assist Palestinian refugees displaced by the fighting over the creation of Israel, Unrwa has functioned like a quasi-government, running schools, healthcare centers and other services for Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza and elsewhere in the Levant. In Gaza alone, it has 13,000 employees.

Since the war in Gaza began last October, the majority of its population of 2.2 million has been displaced, leaving many without adequate access to food and medical services.

Japan, Canada, Sweden, and Australia, among other donors, have resumed funding the agency after suspending contributions earlier this year. The Netherlands and the U.K. have said they want to review the investigation findings before deciding whether to resume funding.

Israel is pushing for Unrwa to be gradually phased out of Gaza and replaced with other aid organizations. Israel tightly controls access to northern Gaza and recently barred Unrwa from leading aid deliveries there.

An Israeli defense official said the government had provided the investigating team with evidence that Hamas had infiltrated the agency, including the use of Unrwa facilities to store weapons. A Hamas military tunnel complex was found under Unrwa’s headquarters in Gaza.

Carrie Keller-Lynn contributed to this article.

Write to Margherita Stancati at [email protected] and Alan Cullison at [email protected]