’10 per cent’ of staff in UN’s Palestinian refugee agency ‘have ties to violent Islamist groups’
UP to ten per cent of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency staff have ties to violent Islamist groups, it was claimed earlier tonight.
US reports said intelligence suggested 1,200 had militant connections.
The UK and eight other nations have pulled funding over claims at least 12 agency staff were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel last October.
Israeli intelligence discovered seven employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) stormed into Israel and two took part in kidnappings.
Another two agency staffers are said to have raided communal farming villages, while one was accused of arming himself with an anti-tank missile the night before the attack.
Another worker is claimed to have taken photos of a female Israeli hostage.
UNRWA has sacked nine employees, while two of the 12 are dead.
UN chief António Guterres said he was “horrified” by the claims and vowed to take action.
But he urged nations to maintain donations, adding: “The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met.”
UNRWA is the biggest UN agency operating in Gaza, employing around 13,000 people.
It provides healthcare, education and other humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.