Review of UNRWA finds Israel raised no concerns about agency staff for past 13 years

Special Review of UNRWA finds Israel raised no concerns about agency staff for past 13 years
Israel claims that at least 12 UNWRA staff participated in the Oct. 7 attacks and that they used UN vehicles (AFP)
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Updated 22 April 2024
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Review of UNRWA finds Israel raised no concerns about agency staff for past 13 years

Review of UNRWA finds Israel raised no concerns about agency staff for past 13 years
  • The independent review, ordered by the UN secretary-general, adds that Israel has provided no evidence to back up allegations that 12 UNRWA workers took part in Oct. 7 attacks
  • The findings of the investigation, led by French former foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, are contained in a wide-ranging 48-page report published on Monday

NEW YORK CITY: Israeli authorities have yet to provide any evidence to back up their allegations that a dozen people who worked for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees were affiliated with terrorist groups, according to an independent review headed by the French former foreign minister, Catherine Colonna.

Her nine-week investigation began after Israel alleged in January that 12 UNRWA workers took part in the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel. The investigators also found that Israel had not previously expressed concerns about any individuals named on the agency staffing lists it had been receiving since 2011.

The wide-ranging 48-page report, published on Monday and seen by Arab News, states: “In the absence of a political solution between Israel and the Palestinians, UNRWA remains pivotal in providing life-saving humanitarian aid and essential social services, particularly in health and education, to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank.

“As such, UNRWA is irreplaceable and indispensable to Palestinians’ human and economic development. In addition, many view UNRWA as a humanitarian lifeline.”

The agency, which provides aid and services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza and throughout the region, was thrown into crisis when the Israeli allegations emerged. In response, the US, the biggest single funder of UNRWA, and several other major donors put their funding for the organization on hold. In all, 16 UN member states suspended or paused donations, while others imposed conditions, placing the future of the agency in doubt.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in consultation with UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini, ordered an independent review of the claims to evaluate the agency’s adherence to the principle of neutrality, and its response to allegations of breaches of neutrality, particularly within the challenging context of the situation in Gaza.

Guterres also initiated a separate investigation by the UN’s own Office of Internal Oversight Services to determine the accuracy of the allegations against UNRWA staff. The agency also cut its ties with the workers named by Israel.

According to the Colonna report, the amount of money withheld during the pauses in funding amounted to about $450 million. Following the actions taken by the UN in response to the Israeli allegations, several member states reinstated their funding. However, they called for further details about the events in question, and the strengthening of UNRWA mechanisms and procedures to ensure the neutrality of its workers, including its vetting and oversight of staff.

The task of the review group was to “assess whether UNRWA is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and respond to allegations of serious neutrality breaches when they are made.”

Colonna told Arab News: “We received excellent cooperation from all sides,” including the Israeli government.

Her report reiterates that “UNRWA and its staff and personnel have a fundamental obligation to maintain neutrality to ensure the integrity of the agency’s mission and the effectiveness of its operations.

“Neutrality is a UN commitment, as one of the four humanitarian principles formally adopted by the General Assembly and upheld by other UN agencies while operating in humanitarian settings. It means

that humanitarian actors must not take sides in hostilities or engage in controversies of a political, racial, religious or ideological nature.”

The report includes more than 50 recommendations for enhancing efforts to ensure the neutrality of more than 32,000 UNRWA workers. They include improvements to internal oversight services, increased in-person training, and additional support from donor nations.

However, the review also acknowledges that existing UNRWA safeguards are already more stringent than those in place at similar organizations.

“UNRWA’s neutrality challenges differ from those of other international organizations due to the magnitude of its operations, with most personnel being locally recruited and recipients of UNRWA services,” the review notes.

Guterres said he has accepted the findings of Colonna’s report and agreed with Lazzarini that UNRWA “will establish an action plan to implement the recommendations contained in the final report.”

The spokesperson for the secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, said that Guterres “counts on the cooperation of the donor community, the host countries and the staff to fully cooperate in the implementation of the recommendations.

“Moving forward, the secretary-general appeals to all stakeholders to actively support UNRWA, as it is a lifeline for Palestine refugees in the region.”

Colonna said in New York on Monday that “the international community has a responsibility in helping and supporting UNRWA in addressing neutrality issues.”

During its nine-week investigation, her group thoroughly examined the agency’s existing mechanisms and protocols for maintaining neutrality and addressing potential violations. Members of the group visited the UNRWA headquarters and its offices in Amman, Jerusalem and the West Bank, and talked to various stakeholders, including agency officials, donor states, host countries, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, other UN agencies, and representatives of nongovernmental organizations.

In all, the review group met or interviewed more than 200 people, including several members of UNRWA staff in Gaza. Direct contact was made with officials from 47 countries and organizations.

The review revealed that UNRWA has in place a significant number of mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with humanitarian principles, with an emphasis on neutrality, and that it had adopted a more developed approach to the issue of neutrality than many other similar UN agencies or nongovernmental organizations.

Despite these significant efforts, issues relating to the neutrality of the agency and its staff have persisted. There have been several allegations of breaches of neutrality rules and disciplinary measures were taken in response, the report noted, but none of the prior allegations were as serious as the ones made by Israeli authorities in January this year.

A common criticism leveled by Israel against UNRWA is the alleged use in schools throughout the region of Palestinian Authority textbooks that contain antisemitic material. However, international studies have found minimal evidence to substantiate this.

“Three international assessments of PA textbooks in recent years have provided a nuanced picture,” the Colonna report said. “Two identified presence of bias and antagonistic content but did not provide evidence of antisemitic content.

“The third assessment, by the Georg Eckert Institute (in Germany), studied 156 PA textbooks and identified two examples that it found to display antisemitic motifs but noted that one of them had already been removed. The other has been altered.”

A spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry on Monday said Colonna’s report was “insufficient,” ignores the severity of the problem, and offers cosmetic solutions that do not deal with the enormous scope of the infiltration of UNRWA by Hamas.


Lebanon army says Israeli attack kills 2 soldiers

Lebanon army says Israeli attack kills 2 soldiers
Updated 11 sec ago
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Lebanon army says Israeli attack kills 2 soldiers

Lebanon army says Israeli attack kills 2 soldiers
BEIRUT: The Lebanese army said an Israeli attack on Sunday killed two soldiers, accusing Israel of directly targeting their position in south Lebanon where the Israeli military is fighting Hezbollah.
“The Israeli enemy directly targeted an army center” in Mari in the Hasbaya area, causing “the death of one of the soldiers and the wounding of three others, one of whom is in critical condition,” the army said in a statement.
A separate statement shortly afterwards said “a second soldier” had died of his wounds.
Israeli fire has killed more than a dozen Lebanese soldiers since all-out war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group erupted in September, according to an AFP tally of official announcements.

Egypt’s middle class cuts costs as IMF-backed reforms take hold

Egypt’s middle class cuts costs as IMF-backed reforms take hold
Updated 17 November 2024
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Egypt’s middle class cuts costs as IMF-backed reforms take hold

Egypt’s middle class cuts costs as IMF-backed reforms take hold
  • The world lender has long backed measures in Egypt including a liberal currency exchange market and weaning the public away from subsidies

Cairo: Egypt’s economy has been in crisis for years, but as the latest round of International Monetary Fund-backed reforms bites, much of the country’s middle class has found itself struggling to afford goods once considered basics.
The world lender has long backed measures in Egypt including a liberal currency exchange market and weaning the public away from subsidies.
On the ground, that has translated into an eroding middle class with depleted purchasing power, turning into luxuries what were once considered necessities.
Nourhan Khaled, a 27-year-old private sector employee, has given up “perfumes and chocolates.”
“All my salary goes to transport and food,” she said as she perused items at a west Cairo supermarket, deciding what could stay and what needed to go.
For some, this has extended to cutting back on even the most basic goods — such as milk.
“We do not buy sweets anymore and we’ve cut down on milk,” said Zeinab Gamal, a 28-year-old housewife.
Most recently, Egypt hiked fuel prices by 17.5 percent last month, marking the third increase just this year.
Mounting pressures
The measures are among the conditions for an $8 billion IMF loan program, expanded this year from an initial $3 billion to address a severe economic crisis in the North African country.
“The lifestyle I grew up with has completely changed,” said Manar, a 38-year-old mother of two, who did not wish to give her full name.
She has taken on a part-time teaching job to increase her family’s income to 15,000 Egyptian pounds ($304), just so she can “afford luxuries like sports activities for their children.”
Her family has even trimmed their budget for meat, reducing their consumption from four times to “only two times per week.”
Egypt, the Arab world’s most populous country, is facing one of its worst economic crises ever.
Foreign debt quadrupled since 2015 to register $160.6 billion in the first quarter of 2024. Much of the debt is the result of financing for large-scale projects, including a new capital east of Cairo.
The war in Gaza has also worsened the country’s economic situation.
Repeated attacks on Red Sea shipping by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in Egypt’s vital Suez Canal — a key source of foreign currency — losing over 70 percent of its revenue this year.
Amid growing public frustration, officials have recently signalled a potential re-evaluation of the IMF program.
“If these challenges will make us put unbearable pressure on public opinion, then the situation must be reviewed with the IMF,” President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said last month.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly also ruled out any new financial burdens on Egyptians “in the coming period,” without specifying a timeframe.
Economists, however, say the reforms are already taking a toll.
Wael Gamal, director of the social justice unit at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, said they led to “a significant erosion in people’s living conditions” as prices of medicine, services and transportation soared.
He believes the IMF program could be implemented “over a longer period and in a more gradual manner.”
’Bitter pill to swallow’
Egypt has been here before. In 2016, a three-year $12-billion loan program brought sweeping reforms, kicking off the first of a series of currency devaluations that have decimated the Egyptian pound’s value over the years.
Egypt’s poverty rate stood at 29.7 percent in 2020, down slightly from 32.5 percent the previous year in 2019, according to the latest statistics by the country’s CAPMAS agency.
But Gamal said the current IMF-backed reforms have had a “more intense” effect on people.
“Two years ago, we had no trouble affording basics,” said Manar.
“Now, I think twice before buying essentials like food and clothing,” she added.
Earlier this month, the IMF’s managing director Kristalina Georgieva touted the program’s long-term impact, saying Egyptians “will see the benefits of these reforms in a more dynamic, more prosperous Egyptian economy.”
Her remarks came as the IMF began a delayed review of its loan program, which could unlock $1.2 billion in new financing for Egypt.
Economist and capital market specialist Wael El-Nahas described the loan as a “bitter pill to swallow,” but called it “a crucial tool” forcing the government to make “systematic” decisions.
Still, many remain skeptical.
“The government’s promises have never proven true,” Manar said.
Egyptian expatriates send about $30 billion in remittances per year, a major source of foreign currency.
Manar relies on her brother abroad for essentials, including instant coffee which now costs 400 Egyptian pounds (about $8) per jar.
“All I can think about now is what we will do if there are more price increases in the future,” she said.


Iraq blast kills three security personnel: officials

Iraq blast kills three security personnel: officials
Updated 17 November 2024
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Iraq blast kills three security personnel: officials

Iraq blast kills three security personnel: officials

A blast from an explosive device on Sunday killed three members of Iraq’s security forces and wounded three others in the northern province of Salaheddin, officials said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in Tuz Khurmatu, which borders a province plagued by sporadic jihadist attacks.
Iraq declared victory over the Daesh group in late 2017, but its jihadists remain active in the country, particularly in rural areas.
Sunday’s blast killed an army regiment commander, another officer and a security service member, said Zulfiqar Al-Bayati, mayor of Tuz Khurmatu.
A security official confirmed the death toll to AFP, adding the victims had been in a vehicle when the explosion occurred.
Those killed were members of the Peshmerga forces of the autonomous northern region of Kurdistan, while the wounded were members from the Iraqi army.
The Iraqi defense ministry paid tribute to the three soldiers who “fell as martyrs... while carrying out their duty.”
The Daesh group overran large swathes of Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014, proclaiming its “caliphate” and launching a reign of terror.
It was defeated in Iraq in 2017 by Iraqi forces backed by a US-led military coalition, and in 2019 lost the last territory it held in Syria to US-backed Kurdish forces.
A report by United Nations experts published in July estimated there were around 1,500 to 3,000 jihadists remaining in Iraq and Syria.


Gaza civil defense says 30 dead after Israeli air strike

People check the rubble of a building hit in an overnight Israeli strike in Beit Lahya in northern Gaza Strip on Nov. 17. (AFP)
People check the rubble of a building hit in an overnight Israeli strike in Beit Lahya in northern Gaza Strip on Nov. 17. (AFP)
Updated 39 min 24 sec ago
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Gaza civil defense says 30 dead after Israeli air strike

People check the rubble of a building hit in an overnight Israeli strike in Beit Lahya in northern Gaza Strip on Nov. 17. (AFP)
  • The Gaza health ministry said 43,799 people have been confirmed dead since Oct. 7, 2023

GAZA: Gaza’s civil defense agency said 30 people were killed on Sunday, including children, and dozens were missing after an Israeli air strike hit a building in the Palestinian territory’s north.
Israel’s army told AFP that it had conducted overnight strikes and hit “terrorist targets” in the area.
After the strike early Sunday, 30 bodies were pulled from the rubble of the five-story residential building in Beit Lahia, “including children and women,” civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP, updating a previous figure of 26.
Seven people were injured, Bassal added. Earlier on Sunday he said at least 59 people were missing.
“The chances of rescuing more wounded are decreasing because of the continuous shooting and artillery shelling,” Bassal said.
AFP images showed men covered in dust scrambling to reach people under the rubble, as some of the bodies were taken away on a donkey-pulled cart.
Other AFP images showed the flattened building with broken concrete and twisted metal sticking out from the ruins as more bodies covered in blankets lay nearby.
Vowing to stop Hamas militants from regrouping in already ravaged north Gaza, Israel on October 6 began a major air and ground assault that began in Jabalia and then expanded to Beit Lahia.
Israel’s army said there were “ongoing terrorist activities in the area of Beit Lahia,” adding: “Overnight, several strikes were conducted on terrorist targets in the area.”
“We emphasize that there have been continuous efforts to evacuate the civilian population from the active war zone in the area,” the ministry said in a statement.
Hamas, which runs the territory, accused Israel of committing a “massacre” which it said is “a continuation of the genocidal war and revenge against unarmed civilians.”
Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemned the United States, Israel’s biggest supporter, for “enabling this continued bloodshed.”
In a statement issued from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, he also demanded that “the United States force Israel to stop its aggression and comply with international law.”
The Palestinian foreign ministry urged the international community to act to “immediately halt these atrocities.”
Earlier on Sunday, Gaza’s civil defense said other Israeli strikes killed at least 20 people, including four women and three children, across the war-torn territory.
Gaza’s health ministry on Sunday said the overall death toll in more than 13 months of war had reached 43,846.
The majority of the dead are civilians, according to ministry figures, which the United Nations considers reliable.
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.


Hezbollah spokesman killed in Israel strike on Beirut

A Lebanese security source said Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif was killed in an Israeli strike Sunday in central Beirut.
A Lebanese security source said Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif was killed in an Israeli strike Sunday in central Beirut.
Updated 17 November 2024
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Hezbollah spokesman killed in Israel strike on Beirut

A Lebanese security source said Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif was killed in an Israeli strike Sunday in central Beirut.
  • “The strike on Ras Al-Nabaa killed Hezbollah media relations official Mohammed Afif,” the security source said
  • Ali Hijazi, secretary-general of the Lebanese branch of the Baath party, “confirmed the death of Hezbollah media official” Afif

BEIRUT: A Lebanese security source said Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif was killed in an Israeli strike Sunday in central Beirut that hit the Lebanese branch of the Syrian Baath party.
“The strike on Ras Al-Nabaa killed Hezbollah media relations official Mohammed Afif,” the security source said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to brief the media.
Ali Hijazi, secretary-general of the Lebanese branch of the Baath party, “confirmed the death of Hezbollah media official” Afif, the official National News Agency reported.
The Israeli army declined to comment.
Lebanon’s health ministry said the strike killed one person and wounded three others, adding that the toll was provisional and that work was ongoing to remove rubble from the site of the strike.
Afif for years had been responsible for Hezbollah’s media relations, and provided information to local and foreign journalists under the cover of anonymity.
The NNA said the strike by “enemy aircraft” caused “great destruction,” reporting an unspecified number of people “trapped under the rubble” in Ras Al-Nabaa, an area near the French embassy and a university.
It said “one of the residents of a neighboring building had received a warning call urging evacuation but it was not taken seriously.”
Since the assassination in late September of longtime Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a huge Israeli strike, Afif had held several press conferences in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
In one such event last month, Afif announced that Hezbollah had launched a drone targeting the residence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
That press conference was cut short when the Israeli army warned it would strike a building nearby.