Unpublished UNRWA Report Accuses Israel of Coercing its Staffers into Making False Confessions Regarding Hamas Ties
Summary from the AllSides News Team
On March 4, CNN (Lean Left bias) reported seeing an unpublished report in which the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) accused Israel of detaining and coercing its staffers into “making false confessions about the agency’s ties to Hamas.”
Reuters Sees the Report: On March 8, Reuters (Center bias) said it also saw the report, which was 11 pages long and dated February 2024. Reuters said it could not independently confirm the UNRWA’s accusations of coercion, and that the UNRWA declined its request to see interview transcripts containing the allegations of false confessions.
“Experts” Discard the Report: Fox News (Right bias) spoke to several pundits who criticized the UNRWA and its report for a lack of credibility. Peter Gallo, a former investigator at the United Nations described the report as a “joke.” David Bedein, an “expert on UNRWA's curriculum,” according to Fox, called it "ridiculous.”
For Context: Israel previously accused several UNRWA staffers of taking part in Hamas’ October 7 attack on southern Israel. A private dossier from Israeli intelligence later suggested that 10% of the organization’s nearly 13,000 employees were tied to Hamas. The accusations caused several Western nations including the U.S., UK, and Canada to pause funding to the UNRWA, although over the weekend Canada and Sweden resumed funding. Last month, Israeli forces discovered a Hamas compound beneath the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza.
How The Media Covered It: Very few mainstream or notable American media outlets covered the story.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Experts slam leaked UNRWA report claiming Israel coerced workers into making false statements: 'Ridiculous'The scandal-plagued United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) claimed in a report that some of its workers were pressured by Israel to falsely admit their connections to the Oct. 7 mass murder carried out by Hamas.
According to a report reviewed by Reuters on Friday, "Agency staff members have been subject to threats and coercion by the Israeli authorities while in detention, and pressured to make false statements against the Agency, including that the Agency has affiliations with Hamas and that UNRWA staff members took...
From the Center
UNRWA report says Israel coerced some agency employees to falsely admit Hamas linksThe U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said some employees released into Gaza from Israeli detention reported having been pressured by Israeli authorities into falsely stating that the agency has Hamas links and that staff took part in the Oct. 7 attacks.
The assertions are contained in a report by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reviewed by Reuters and dated February 2024 which detailed allegations of mistreatment in Israeli detention made by unidentified Palestinians, including several working for UNRWA.
UNRWA communications director Juliette Touma said the agency planned to hand the information in the...
From the Left
UN agency accuses Israel of detaining, coercing staffers into false confessions about ties to HamasThe UN agency for Palestinian refugees on Monday accused Israel of detaining and torturing some of its staffers, coercing them into making false confessions about the agency’s ties to Hamas.
“Some of our staff have conveyed to UNRWA teams that they were forced to (make) confessions under torture and ill-treatment. These false confessions were in response to questioning about relations between UNRWA and Hamas and involvement in the 7 October attack against Israel,” UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma said in a statement.
Israel has accused at least 12 staffers from the UN Relief and Works...
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