https://arab.news/2tb63
Israelis are generally not known for their admiration of the UN, even though it is the very international organization that voted for the establishment of their state in 1947 and subsequently admitted it as a member, thereby providing it with international legitimacy.
And no single UN agency is more deplored — dare I say hated? — by the Israeli government than the UN Relief and Works Agency. It was created in 1949 as a “temporary” measure to provide humanitarian relief and assistance to Palestinians in five areas of operation: Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. It is still doing this work, with extremely impressive results under the most difficult of circumstances.
The vicious, and in most cases baseless, criticism of UNRWA by Israeli officials and their allies, mainly in the US, intensified two years ago after the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups. It came despite unequivocal condemnation of the attacks by UN leaders, including Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
Shortly after the devastating attacks, Israel alleged that 12 of the agency’s employees had participated in them, but offered no conclusive evidence for the allegation. A UN investigation concluded that the allegation, “if authenticated and corroborated, could indicate that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the attacks.”
