Israeli MP: UN Agency Drives Islamist Radicalization

It’s no secret that the schools run by the UNRWA—The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the UN agency created in 1949 exclusively to aid Palestinian refugees—use textbooks that glorify terrorism and incite children against Israeli Jews, both in Gaza and the West Bank. 

However, the organization’s structural problems run much deeper than just the textbooks, and the entire UNRWA must be dismantled to end the Islamist indoctrination that fuels Hamas’ perpetual war against Israel, Knesset Member Sharren Haskel warned at an event organized by MEPs of the European Conservative and Reformist (ECR) Group. The event, “How to stop radicalisation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” was held  in the European Parliament on Wednesday, December 6th. 

Haskel, the chair of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus, called the United Nations “an accomplice to the indoctrination of Palestinians in Gaza, which culminated in the Hamas Oct. 7 massacre”—”specifically UNRWA.”

As we reported earlier, conservative MEPs recently questioned the EU Commission about European taxpayers’ money ending up supporting terrorism-related activities. In the past two years alone, the EU disbursed €681 million to “Palestine,” €225 of which went directly to Hamas-controlled Gaza. The Commission states that the designation “Palestine” should “not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine” and is “without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.”

EU funds are used, for instance, to finance part of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) ‘pay for slay’ program—a system of life-long benefits and pensions for the families of ‘martyrs’ who die or are imprisoned for anti-Israel terrorism—which amounts to over $300 million, or nearly one-tenth of the PA’s budget every year, and provides a giant incentive for terrorism.

The other main recipient of EU funds is the UNRWA, a shady organization with a history intertwined with the perpetuation of the Palestinian conflict. “October 7th did not happen in a vacuum,” Haskel said at the event, explaining that the organization has been playing a central role in the radicalization of generations of Palestinians for decades.

The UNRWA is the most deeply ingrained institution in Gaza that allows the indoctrination of children to grow up to be terrorists, funded by your government.

Terror in the schools

There are several layers to how the UN agency is fueling the ongoing cycle of violence in Israel, Haskel explained. First is education, through the school system financed and run by the UNRWA throughout Gaza and the West Bank. 

For instance, the teachers are often former members of Hamas or are openly supportive of the group, while the textbooks adopted by the UNRWA leadership—themselves deeply connected to the terrorist organization—are full of blatant antisemitism and the glorification of terrorists.

“For example, the textbooks say that Jews influence and control money, media, and politics; glorify suicide bombers and beheadings; and say that dying is preferable to living,” to encourage children to be martyrs, Haskel said. She added that at the same time, the books contain no reference to the Holocaust at all, courtesy of Suhail al-Hindi, a senior Hamas activist and chairman of the UNRWA’s Staff Union.

Both Haskel and the event’s co-organizer, MEP Cristian Terheș, brought textbooks used in UNRWA schools—a fifth grade and a third grade book, both containing a large picture of Dalal Mughrabi, a kidnapper and suicide bomber who killed 38 Israelis, including 13 children, in 1978, and who is still being celebrated as a martyr with dozens of schools bearing her name.

Hereditary victimhood

The educational aspect might be the most outrageous one, but the core problem with UNRWA is much wider than that. Practically, the organization works as a giant instrument to keep Palestinian victimhood alive—and profitable—forever.

The first Arab-Israeli war in 1948 resulted in roughly 750,000 Palestinian refugees fleeing the country. Logically, after seventy years, this number should be near zero, Haskel noted, but instead, there are close to six million of them now, and the number will only increase. As it turns out, the UN grants hereditary refugee status to Palestinians, uniquely in the world, regardless of where they are born.

The quality of aid and service this status provides is also unique. For context, the UN’s main refugee aid organization, UNHCR, employs around 20,700 workers to provide for 108 million people in need worldwide. In contrast, the UNRWA has over 30,000 employees to help 5.9 million Palestinians, who—unlike any other refugees—receive free permanent housing, healthcare, education, and jobs for life.

“Being a Palestinian refugee has become a status, a profession, and source of income that is inherited and goes on forever,” Haskel said. Over 70% of Gaza’s population are refugees, despite being born there. “Why? Because it is profitable to be a Palestinian refugee.”

This directly translates into a cycle of never-ending violence. The number of ‘refugees’ keeps growing; more and more people are eligible and attend UNRWA schools where they get radicalized by Hamas members or sympathizers, then are given jobs in the organization, and continue to expand it to further their agenda. 

The constant threat of terrorism is just one result, Haskel noted, but this system also holds millions of Palestinians captive, unable to build a free and prosperous society. “For 75 years, the UNRWA destroyed the future of generations of Gazans.”

This is why eliminating Hamas alone will only lead to the inevitable resurgence of terrorism at some point in the future. The real challenge for Israel starts after the war is over ending the indoctrination and incitement of Palestinians, starting with education. But for that, the international community needs to understand the reality and stop financing radicalism immediately. As Haskel underlined:

If we are to win the hearts and minds of the children of Gaza … so that maybe one day we can co-exist, we need to dismantle UNRWA and stop them from perpetuating the conflict and the hatred towards Jews.

אונר״א היא לא הפיתרון אלא חלק מהבעיה!

בכנס בפרלמנט האירופי קראתי לעשרות חברי פרלמנט לקחת אחריות ולעצור את ההסתה והחינוך לאלימות שמתבצעת באופן שיטתי על ידי ארגון אונר״א השייך לאו״ם.

הסברתי להם שישראל תומכת בסיוע הומניטרי אבל לא מוכנה להכיל מימון טרור, הסוואת אמצעי לחימה ואימון… pic.twitter.com/RDn6rKBJlg

— Sharren Haskel השכל שרן (@SharrenHaskel) December 7, 2023