Israel has accused the UNRWA employees of working for Palestinian terror groups such as Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). It has already been revealed that employees with the organization helped Hamas carry out the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
Ambassador Amir Weissbrod wrote in a July 4 letter that the presence of Hamas terrorists in the UNRWA has been an increasing concern for the Israeli government. "However, the full scope of this unprecedented infiltration was unknown and became clear only after the October 7th terrorist attack in Israel, in which, as you know, UNRWA employees actively participated," said Weissbrod.
"In recent months Israel has discovered that hundreds of terrorists, members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have been employed by UNRWA in the Gaza Strip, some of them holding high-ranking positions in the UNRWA or in Hamas," the letter continued.
The ambassador said the intent of his letter was to share some "additional information" on who they had identified, which included a "document containing 100 names and IDs of terrorist operatives who are currently employed by the UNRWA-Gaza."
"This list includes their military IDs as well," said Weissbrod, according to the letter.
"Israel expects from you and your organization to immediately terminate the employment of any member of Hamas or PIJ...their work in UNRWA poses a security risk for Israel, and represents a breach of the principle of neutrality as was mentioned in Ms. Colonna's report," he said, adding that "This list will also be provided to major UNRWA donors."
The UNRWA has previously acknowledged the authenticity of the information, and the Israeli government has released numerous photographs, videos, and documents that demonstrate Hamas militants' involvement within the organization. Phillipe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, declared in January that he had terminated UNRWA personnel who were implicated in the attack on Oct. 7.
