Israeli occupation forced employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency into falsely stating that the agency has Hamas links and that staff took part in the Oct. 7 Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the UNRWA said.
The assertions were contained in a report by the UN agency reviewed by Reuters and dated February 2024 which detailed testimonies of mistreatment in Israeli detention made by Palestinians, including several working for UNRWA.
UNRWA communications director Juliette Touma said the agency planned to hand the information in the 11-page, unpublished report to agencies inside and outside the UN specialized in documenting potential human rights abuses.
“When the war comes to an end there needs to be a series of inquiries to look into all violations of human rights,” she said.
The document said several UNRWA Palestinian staffers had been detained by the Israeli occupation army, and added that the ill-treatment and abuse they said they had experienced included severe physical beatings, waterboarding, and threats of harm to family members.
“Agency staff members have been subject to threats and coercion by the Israeli authorities while in detention, and pressured to make false statements against the Agency, including that the Agency has affiliations with Hamas and that UNRWA staff members took part in the 7 October 2023 atrocities,” the report said.
The UNRWA, which provides healthcare, education and other vital services to the Palestinian people, was accused by the Zionist entity last January of having links to the Hamas’ Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, prompting more than 10 donor countries, including the United States, Germany, the European Union and Canada, to suspend financial support.
“Cautiously Optimistic”
Later on Saturday, the head of the agency said he was cautiously optimistic some donors would start funding it again within weeks, warning it was “at risk of death” after Israeli claims on alleged Hamas links.
“I am cautiously optimistic that within the next few weeks, and also following the publication of Catherine Colonna’s report, a number of donors will return,” UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said in an interview with Swiss broadcaster RTS that was aired on Saturday.
Lazzarini told RTS that UNRWA was at “risk of death, at risk of dismantlement”.
Thank you #norway 🇳🇴 for the incredible support https://t.co/A0BZ2NphcG
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) March 9, 2024
Source: Agencies
