DANNY DANON: UN has failed Gaza. It’s time for a new era
It’s time to address an uncomfortable truth. UNRWA-Gaza has monumentally failed the people of Gaza. It has failed in its original mandate to educate Gazans and help, not hinder, peace. And, as a UN agency, it has become overrun by terrorism.
Rather than focusing on education, health care and social services, UNRWA-Gaza has been unmasked, offering relief – and cover – to Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization, while also working hand-in-hand with their diplomatic proxy, the Palestinian Authority. Together, they perpetuate a virulent hatred of Jews, glorify violence and prolong conflict.
UNRWA was established in 1949, a year after the establishment of the State of Israel. While refugees around the world have relied on temporary aid from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Palestinians have had an agency of their own. But this unique agency was created not to solve a problem, but to preserve one. UNRWA has entrenched Palestinians’ status as permanent refugees and has ensured that generations remain locked in hatred and rejectionism.
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Palestinian hate towards Israelis and Jews didn’t occur in a vacuum. The systematic indoctrination of hatred begins in the classroom. Here’s a passage from a fifth-grade textbook taught at schools funded and supported by the U.N. and its member states: "Dalal Mughrabi, a name etched in glory, led with unmatched bravery. Her operation brought pride to the Palestinian cause, reminding us that the blood of martyrs paves the way to liberation. In her footsteps, we teach our children to aspire to heroism and martyrdom, as these are the marks of a nation’s strength."
The ‘operation’ cited here was no noble cause – and Mughrabi was no hero. She was a Palestinian terrorist with innocent blood on her hands, having plotted the Coastal Road Massacre in Tel Aviv in 1978 that left 38 innocent Israeli civilians dead, including 13 children.
UNRWA has failed to teach peace. It has also failed to advance peace. Its schools and facilities have been converted into weapon depots and launching pads for rocket attacks on Israeli civilian centers.
In the past year, Israel has exposed hundreds of UNRWA employees moonlighting as Hamas operatives, and vice versa. But the U.N. remains silent on this revolving door of terror.
Worse, UNRWA-Gaza has blood on its hands, and the world has turned a blind eye because that blood is Jewish. Last month, I had the honor and privilege to accompany Ayelet Samerano in the U.N. and stood by her as she spoke about her dear son, Yonatan.
On October 7th, the darkest day in Israel’s history, Yonatan was kidnapped from southern Israel to Gaza by an UNRWA worker who was cashing checks signed and sealed by the United Nations and the Commissioner-General of UNRWA.
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To date, there has been no apology, no explanation, no condemnation by the U.N. as to why its employees are participating in brutal terrorism rather than fulfilling their mandate of providing humanitarian aid to Gazans.
Why does the United Nations and its members continue to support such egregious acts of terrorism? Where is the outrage at UNRWA and its staff violating the U.N.’s foundational peacekeeping principles?
Despite what some international bodies claim, UNRWA is neither the largest - nor most critical - humanitarian agency operating in Gaza. Gazans don’t need UNRWA to thrive. Other agencies, not infiltrated by Hamas and genuinely focused on bettering the lives of Gazans, have achieved more in improving conditions in Gaza. In the past three months, the World Food Program has been responsible for 50% of humanitarian aid in Gaza, while UNRWA accounted for less than 13%.
Now’s the time for a shift. It is time for the U.N. to dissolve UNRWA and stop being collaborators in conflict to start being partners in peace.
If the international community truly cared about the people of Gaza, it would support moves to install alternative agencies to replace UNRWA’s activities in Gaza.
Ambassador Danny Danon is Israel’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations.