Dismantle UNRWA

Guterres asked UNRWA donor nations not to throw the baby with the bathwater as the agency was allegedly tainted only by a few bad eggs.

If God is with us, who can be against us? How about the United Nations or, at the very least its officials?

This may well apply to Israel as it engages the UN in a test of willpower, first over the International Court of Justice’s interim verdict, and now UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ call.

Guterres yesterday implored donor countries to its Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA to keep their money flowing to ensure the body’s operation following the exposure by Israel of its partisan activities.

Partisanship is an understatement, as late last year, following Hamas’ deadly attack on Israel villages that killed about 1,140 people, the latter presented damning evidence against UNRWA; evidence that some of its workers participated in the terror attack.

It’s an undeniable fact that UNRWA resources, including its vehicles and supplies, were used by Hamas during its murderous rampage, thus Israel’s vow to dismantle the UN body from operating in Gaza after the war.

“Guarantee the continuity” of UNRWA’s operations in Gaza, Guterres pleaded to those countries that had withheld support following Israel’s provision of proof of its crimes. Guterres all but admitted UNRWA officials have blood on their hands.

“While I understand their concerns — I was myself horrified by these accusations — I strongly appeal to the governments that have suspended their contributions to, at least, guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations,” Guterres said in a statement.

Among those that had withdrawn funding to UNRWA were the United States, Switzerland, Canada and the United Kingdom.

In a bid to stave off funding withdrawal, UNRWA fired several staff while promising a thorough investigation into the charges raised by Israel against it. “The abhorrent alleged acts of these staff members must have consequences,” Guterres said in another admission of guilt for UNRWA.

Early this week, the ICJ, the UN’s top court, released an interim ruling urging Hamas to release all of its remaining hostages and for Israel to ensure that its military actions against Hamas in Gaza do not result in genocide. It also asked Israel to ensure the unhampered pouring of humanitarian aid to civilians still in Gaza caught in the crossfire between the Israeli Defense Force and Hamas.

Guterres practically asked UNRWA donor nations not to throw the baby with the bathwater when he manifested that the agency was only tainted by a few bad eggs, the 12 now being investigated by the UN.

Of the 12, nine had been fired, one is dead and the identities of the two others are still being verified, the UN chief said. “But the tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized,” he said. “The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met.”

If Guterres wants to ensure that humanitarian assistance to Gaza civilians does not stop, he should pull all the stops and remove and replace all of its officials and personnel assigned with UNRWA. What the UN agency needs is a clean slate and not a half-hearted pledge to investigate its participation in the attack on Israel.

UNRWA cannot come to the table with an unclean hand and project to be doing humanitarian work. Here, Israel has squarely put the blame on the UN leadership when it said Guterres ignored evidence presented to him regarding UNRWA’s involvement in “incitement and terrorism.”

Israel has maintained that any country that continues to fund UNRWA “before a comprehensive investigation of the organization should know that its money will be used for terrorism and the aid that will be transferred to UNRWA may reach the Hamas terrorists instead of the population in Gaza.”

Hamas, as expected came to the defense of UNRWA, when it asked the UN and other international organizations not to cave in to “threats and blackmail” coming from Israel.

The buck stops nowhere else but on his doorsteps, Guterres should be mindful of this fact. UNRWA’s complicity with the 7 October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel can’t be swept under the rug. There’s no begging for funding for a tainted agency. Dismantle the UNRWA and rebuild trust first before mouthing the word “humanitarian” ever again.

*****
Credit belongs to:tribune.net.ph