UNRWA review: Israel hasn’t provided evidence that agency staff were terror group members

An independent review published Monday of the beleaguered UN agency for Palestinian refugees said that Israel had yet to provide supporting evidence for its claims that a significant number of agency staff were members of terrorist organizations and argued that UNRWA had “robust” policies in place to ensure staff neutrality.

Israel rejected the findings, saying it only provided “cosmetic fixes,” reasserting its position that the agency was intertwined with Hamas and could not play a future role in Gaza. A prominent UN watchdog also called the report a “whitewash.”

The United Nations appointed former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna to lead the UNRWA neutrality review in February after Israel alleged that 12 UNRWA staff actively participated in the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught in which 1,200 people were killed and another 253 taken hostage.