“It is not possible to determine where Hamas begins” – Aurora News Israel and the World

On Monday, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) of On the same day a report containing recommendations to “support its neutrality” was presented in New York.

Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said in a statement, “Hamas has infiltrated UNRWA to the point that it is no longer possible to determine where UNRWA ends and Hamas begins.”

Israel accuses 2,135 members of the agency of belonging to Hamas or Islamic Jihad. The report submitted today at the United Nations does not specify the involvement of twelve agency employees in the October 7 Hamas attacks.

This accusation, made by Israel in January, prompted several countries, including the United States, to suspend its funding to UNRWA, which warned that if the funds were not increased, it would enter into a crisis in July of this year.

Marmorstein, the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the report, prepared by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, “ignores the seriousness of the problem and offers cosmetic solutions that do not address the massive scale of Hamas infiltration.”

According to the report, UNRWA must improve its neutral character in the selection and behavior of its employees, or in the use of its facilities and even its vehicles. The text also proposes strengthening communication between the agency and its donors in a more transparent manner.

In any case, the report does not dispute that the agency is “indispensable and indispensable to the human and economic development of the Palestinians,” something Israel denies.

Agencies contributed to this Aurora article.