Israel Terror allegations: UN terminates nine UNRWA staff members

Following serious allegations of terrorism, the United Nations has terminated cooperation with nine employees of the UN Palestinian Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). An investigation that has been ongoing for months has concluded that "evidence received indicates that UNRWA staff may have been involved in the armed attacks of 7 October 2023", the world organization announced.

When asked, a UN spokesperson admitted that Israel's allegations could not be confirmed with absolute certainty by the United Nations, but that the evidence justified the dismissals.

The spokesperson confirmed that this means that the UN believes there is a high or very high probability that its staff were involved in the devastating acts of terrorism. Details of the nature of the involvement were not initially given. In ten other cases, however, the evidence was not sufficient to terminate the employment relationships.

UNRWA hit the headlines in January because Israel claimed that twelve employees had been involved in the devastating terrorist acts of the Islamist Hamas on October 7 - accusations against other people were added later. Some of the most important donors, including the USA and Germany, temporarily suspended their payments. However, Berlin and a number of other countries resumed their donations.

A further investigation into the extent to which UNRWA meets its neutrality requirements certified that the organization has some "robust" mechanisms, but also saw room for improvement.