Indeed, Israel’s decision to ban UNRWA is a major step towards dismantling the agency—which will reduce Hamas’s threat to the Jewish state and help to liberate Palestinians from Hamas’s brutal authoritarian rule.

In truth, UNRWA is fundamentally a terrorist organization itself, whose staff and facilities are inextricably bound to Hamas and which operates under Hamas’s control. Millions of dollars of UNRWA funding support the terror group’s priorities. No wonder an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman once quipped that “Hamas has infiltrated UNRWA so deeply that it is no longer possible to determine where UNRWA ends and where Hamas begins.”

Many UNRWA employees are members of Hamas. Some of these employees directly participated in the October 7^th massacre, while others supported it wholeheartedly. UNRWA facilities are frequently used by Hamas and other terrorist groups as bases from which to attack Israel. The agency’s schools indoctrinate Palestinian children to embrace Hamas’s goal of hating and killing Jews. Hamas oversees UNRWA’s social welfare programs.

UNRWA also perpetuates the Palestinian 75-year-old refugee crisis, nurturing the myth that one day Palestinians will destroy Israel and return to their “native homeland”—territory few Palestinians have ever set foot in.

Yet, the “international community,” including the U.S., want UNRWA to endure, claiming no one else can do the work it performs. In fact, many aid organizations can deliver the same services that UNRWA does—without supporting terrorism.

Rather than condemn Israel for banning UNRWA, the world’s nations could more wisely help the Palestinians by praising Israel’s actions. Better yet, UN sponsors should themselves follow Israel’s example and ban the corrupt UN agency. Surely, no nation would allow a terrorist organization that undermines the security of its host country to operate on its soil.

Many UNRWA employees are also members of Hamas or other terrorist groups. Israeli intelligence indicates that about 10% of UNRWA’s Gaza employees have ties to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups. Many UNRWA employees enthusiastically supported the October 7^th massacre. Indeed, UN Watch uncovered a Telegram group of 3,000 UNRWA staffers who celebrated the atrocity.

UNRWA staffers joined in the October 7^th massacre and many serve as Hamas commandos. At least 12 UN staffers participated in the massacre. Some took hostages. One hostage released in the November ceasefire reported he was held captive by an UNRWA teacher. Just a few weeks ago, the IDF killed Fatah Sharif, a top Hamas commander who was also an UNRWA employee.

UNRWA facilities frequently house terrorists and their weapons. Israel has revealed over 30 UNRWA facilities containing terrorist infrastructure, such as tunnel shafts supplied by UNRWA electricity and stocked with UNRWA food aid. Hamas even operated a computer server farm directly under—and connected to—UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters. Israel passed this information on to UNRWA’s Commissioner, Philip Lazzarini, the media and donor countries, but all have chosen to deny or ignore it.

UNRWA teaches Palestinian children to hate and murder Jews. UNRWA schools use textbooks, which—according to numerous studies and findings of the U.S. and EU—are steeped in antisemitism and support for terrorism. Children are taught to kill Jews and violently destroy Israel. They are assured that dying as a martyr for this cause is the highest possible honor. How can Israel—or any nation—sponsor an organization with such a curriculum?

UNRWA maintains Palestinians as perpetual welfare recipients. UNRWA defines refugees—not just Palestinians who left Israel during the 1948-49 war—but also their descendants-without-end. UNRWA convinces them their only hope of salvation is a mythical “right of return” to Palestine, once Israel is destroyed. Thus, unlike the UN High Commission for Refugees, which helps millions of other refugees worldwide find new homes and overcome their refugee status, UNRWA offers Palestinians no realistic chance of overcoming their welfare status.

Part of Palestinians’ dependency springs from the fact that 80% of UNRWA’s 30,000 employees are Palestinians themselves—a veritable gravy train. While the agency prioritizes direct benefits like food and education, it neglects job training—UNRWA itself is the career goal for many. Moreover, the agency’s huge staff of 30,000 assists only 6 million Palestinians, while the UNHCR with only 20,000 staff has assisted 122.6 million refugees globally.

UNRWA is notoriously ineffective as an aid organization. Israel’s decision to ban UNRWA has been condemned by Western countries, including the U.S., and UN Special Rapporteur for Palestine Francesca Albanese has suggested that Israel be suspended from the UN. These critics argue that Gaza is utterly dependent on bloated UNRWA services, which no other organization can provide. Nonsense. Inefficient UNRWA convoys leave thousands of tons of food supplies rotting in the sun and virtually assist Hamas in hijacking their trucks.

Some thirteen other aid agencies work in the Gaza Strip, and 23 agencies in Judea and Samaria (aka, the West Bank) support the Palestinians. They are fully capable of replacing UNRWA’s services. In Gaza, for example, UNRWA today handles only 13% of the humanitarian aid that enters the coastal enclave.

UNRWA undermines any attempt to achieve a two-state solution. Countries whose mantra is “two states for two peoples” should cheer Israel’s efforts to shut down UNRWA. The UN agency does not cultivate peace with Israel, but rather promotes endless warfare against Israel, serving the futile fantasy that Palestinians will someday conquer the Jewish state. Indeed, it’s supremely hypocritical to support both two states and the UN agency that effectively sabotages this solution.

Please make the point when speaking with family, friends, colleagues—or in letters to the editor—that if the international community, and particularly Western countries, really want a peaceful resolution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, they should shut UNRWA down. Put a stop to the corruption, promotion of murderous martyrdom and destruction of the Jewish state.

If you agree we need to spread this truth, please use your email browser to forward this Hotline issue to fellow lovers of Israel—and encourage them to join us by subscribing to the Hotline at no charge.

Best regards,
James Sinkinson, President
Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)

P.S. The riots, vandalism and illegal trespassing on American college campuses have sharpened the knives of the Israel haters. It’s become clear that the “pro-Palestinian” protesters are purely anti-Israel and support the genocide of Jews “between the river and the sea.” Scandalously, we’ve also seen hard evidence that university administrators are willing to ignore or openly support the antisemitic hate speech and harassment of Jewish students—though they would never permit such behavior against other minorities. I hope you’ll agree that we supporters of Jewish students and hate-free campuses need to speak out. FLAME’s new hasbarah—explanatory message—“Stop Terrorism on Campus”—calls for four actions to eliminate campus outlaws and to restore rights to all students. Please review this convincing, fact-based editorial, which FLAME recently published in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Tampa Bay Times, Denver Post and Mercury News. This piece will also be sent to all members of Congress, Vice President Harris and President Biden. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel’s behalf is critical, I urge you to support us with a donation.

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