Over the years at Jihad Watch, and particularly since Oct. 7, we have provided extensive evidence of UNRWA’s collaboration with Hamas, as well as its teaching of jihad and Jew-hatred in UNRWA schools. The fact that the Biden regime does not wish to defund or even upbraid UNRWA in light of all this evidence is yet another indication of which side it is really on.
“John Kirby: UNRWA does important work,” by Elad Benari, Israel National News, January 5, 2024:
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Thursday defended the work of UNRWA, the UN agency for “Palestinian refugees” after a reporter suggested the US should rethink its support for the UN agency in the wake of reports that its facilities are being used by Hamas terrorists.
“UNRWA does important work. In fact, they’re doing a lot of heavy lifting right now in terms of trying to get food, water, medicine to the people of Gaza, all up and down the Strip. They’re doing a lot of work, and they’re doing it in harm’s way — very much so in harm’s way,” said Kirby.
“You can’t hold them accountable for the depredations of Hamas and the way Hamas uses civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, for command and control, for storage of weapons, for the holding of hostages,” he added.
When the reporter noted that the US gave UNRWA a billion dollars, Kirby replied, “They do good work in Gaza, and they are important to helping get the humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza. And we’re grateful for that work that they’re doing, very much in harm’s way.”
He added, “I will let them speak to whatever concerns they have over Hamas’s activities and the degree to which that they feel obligated to speak out or not.”…
However, it is also notorious for its anti-Israel activities. During the 2014 counterterrorism Operation Protective Edge, Hamas rockets were discovered inside a school building run by UNRWA.
Likewise, a booby-trapped UNRWA clinic was detonated, killing three IDF soldiers. Aside from the massive amounts of explosives hidden in the walls of the clinic, it was revealed that it stood on top of dozens of terror tunnels, showing how UNRWA is closely embedded with Hamas.
More recently, it was discovered that a hostage kidnapped by Hamas to Gaza was held for 50 days in the attic of an UNRWA teacher.
Last year, the US increased its financial support for UNRWA, reaching a record $223 million, an increase of $16 million on the previous year….
Bexarkat says
“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”
– Bill Cosby.
Hoi Polloi says
Anything in support of islam.
“Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson has admitted to violating the state’s conflict of interest law by hiring her sister and son to paid positions on her staff, and agreed to pay a $5,000 fine.”
She married a convicted, imprisoned murder who killed an immigrant and she got caught refusing to take the oath of office. She’s now attacking those who exposed that.
Sounds like another Ilhan.
Ray Jarman says
I wonder why there were no follow up questions concerning UNRWA’s funding anti-Semitic textbooks for pre-school through the last year of schooling.
My wife who is from Peru gets so upset when there are so few follow up questions at any of the so-called news conferences, especially at the WH daily miss-information events. It matters not who the purveyor of duplicity and deceitful lies is, the reporters are seldom permitted to repeat a question. Even when a reporter who is known by the administration to distrust them is allowed a press pass, that person does not have an opportunity to pose a question. It often seems like the old Stalinist days in the USSR.
Lyone Fein says
This may be the most important issue regarding what happens after this war in Gaza: who controls education of Palestinian children, and of what that education consists. If Israel is to become engaged in nation building in the style of the US after WWII, then this crucial element cannot be overlooked.
Rick Gordon says
UNWRA is the principal organization responsible for the ongoing refugee crisis as their financial support has made permanent the rejection of those who left Israel following the 1948 war by the neighboring countries. Throughout history they would have been assimilated but due to UNWRA are permanent refugees
bagsgroove says
Why would the refugees work like everyone else when they can live off the UNWRA coffers.
Lisa T. says
Here’s a novel idea. How about we spend some of these hundreds of millions of dollars (or billions) we spend on trying to solve other nations’ problems and take some of that money to pay down our own national debt.
James Lincoln says
You are making way too much sense, Lisa.