A new report outlines the financial, operational and personnel ties that the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has maintained with Hamas.
On Wednesday, September 17, Hillel Neuer—Executive Director of UN Watch—declared:
Years of inadequate oversight have allowed Hamas to radicalize an entire generation of Palestinian youth in UNRWA schools in Gaza.
Neuer also criticized what he called UNRWA’s ongoing “infantilization of the Palestinian people,” which deepens political dependency, fuels discontent, and prevents genuine self-government and long-term stability. He emphasized that its current structure undermines the path to lasting peace.
In January, Israel banned the agency from operating in Gaza and the West Bank. Despite the ban, the organization said it is still “trying to support the people of Gaza, but the ongoing Israeli attacks have made this virtually impossible.”
Previously, the UN even argued that UNRWA employees involved in the Hamas-led October 7 pogrom should be immune from prosecution. Despite this, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini believes that the shuttered schools pose the real danger:
Israeli forces have destroyed or damaged a large number of the schools and educational institutions in Gaza.
Meanwhile the European Commission—like Hamas host Qatar—continues to disburse generous financial assistance to Islamist-adjacent causes, including UNRWA.
