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UN closes probe against some UNRWA staff ‘due to lack of evidence’

United Nations (UN) investigators examining Israeli accusations that 12 staff from the “Palestinian refugee” agency UNRWA took part in the October 7 Hamas attacks have closed one case due to a lack of evidence from Israel and suspended three more, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Friday, according to Reuters.

He said the inquiry by the Office for Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) continues into the remaining eight cases.

  • In the closed case, Dujarric argued that “no evidence was provided by Israel to support the allegations against the staff member” and that the UN is “exploring corrective administrative action to be taken in that person’s case.”

He said three cases were suspended “as the information provided by Israel is not sufficient for OIOS to proceed with an investigation.” He added that UNRWA is considering what administrative action to take.

Israel said in January that 12 UNRWA staff participated in the October 7 Hamas attacks. In the weeks that followed, numerous donor states suspended or paused some $450 million in funding to UNRWA, though some of those countries have since resumed the funding.

Israel said that the UNRWA workers who participated in the Hamas massacre kidnapped a woman, handed out ammunition and actively taking part in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 people were murdered.

After Israel presented the accusations against the UNRWA staff, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the creation of a review group, headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, to look into the Israeli allegations.

The group released its report on Monday. The report found neutrality-related issues” in UNRWA but also claimed that Israel had yet to provide evidence for allegations that a significant number of its staff were members of terrorist organizations.

Source: Arutz Sheva