A Republican senator demanded on Monday that the United Nations investigate an Israeli journalist’s claim that one of his employees held a hostage in his attic during the recent fighting in the Gaza Strip.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) gave U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield and United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini until Dec. 18 to respond to allegations made by Channel 13 reporter Israel Almog Boxer.
Boker reported on November 29 that he had interviewed hostages following their release during a lull in fighting between the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas terrorists.
“One of the kidnap victims who was held for almost 50 days in the attic of a house, said he was held by a person [UNRWA] teacher!” journalist writes on X.
“This is a father of ten children who locked up a kidnapped victim in the attic, barely fed him and didn’t give him medicine.”
The Post reported in October that the Biden administration had allocated more than $730 million to UNRWA, despite credible allegations that the agency had employed educators who “constantly call for the killing of Jews” and teach from textbooks “that glorify violence, encourage martyrdom, insulting Israel and inciting antisemitism,” according to a joint March report by the non-governmental organization UN Watch and the Israeli Peace and Culture Monitoring Institute of Cultural Tolerance in School Education.
Senator Marsha Blackburn has written to the United Nations demanding an investigation into allegations that an UNRWA worker held an Israeli prisoner. CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images
The UN program was established in 1948 with the intention of assisting Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza following the establishment of Israel and subsequent Middle East wars. The program, which originally covered 700,000 refugees, has more than 5.6 million registered with it as of 2019 — in part because Palestinian parents are allowed to pass on their refugee status to their children.
Israel War Update
Get the most important developments in the region, globally and locally.
“The United States will not be complicit in supporting Hamas terrorism, and this report further proves why deep change is needed in UNRWA before we consider giving another dollar to the agency,” Blackburn wrote in his letter, which was first reported by Fox News.
“It is deeply troubling that despite the prevalence of these reports, the United Nations appears to be doing nothing to prevent the siphoning of UNRWA funds by terrorists, and UNRWA continues to double down on its claims that each subsequent documented report is ‘baseless,'” he added.
Blackburn wants the UN to provide details of any investigation into Boker’s report and an explanation of UNRWA’s “process to ensure its facilities are not used to support terrorist activities.”
UNRWA called Boker’s claims “baseless” after the journalist failed to respond to the agency’s request for more information.
“UNRWA and other entities at the United Nations have asked the journalist to provide more information about what we consider to be very serious allegations,” the agency said in a statement on Friday.
“Despite repeated demands, the reporter did not respond.”
Blackburn asked for a response by December 18 that addresses allegations made by Israeli journalist Almog Boker about a UNRWA worker who allegedly held hostages in their home for 50 days. Fox News Digital He also asked the UN to provide details of any investigation into the report and an explanation of “UNRWA’s process to ensure its facilities are not used to support terrorist activities.” Fox News Digital
“In the absence of credible information to support this allegation, UNRWA asked the journalist to immediately delete the post,” he said, adding: “Defamatory attacks and the spread of misinformation about UNRWA — from any quarter — directly endanger the Agency’s life-saving operations and its staff operating in the field.
“This dangerous and possibly counterproductive practice must be stopped immediately.”
Boker responded late Saturday with a post on X condemning the international organization for choosing “to attack the testimony of one of the kidnap victims.
“This is the answer I gave them: This is not a ‘claim’. This is the testimony of a survivor, a kidnap victim held captive by Hamas. More evidence to come,” he wrote.
UNRWA has called the allegations “baseless” and has asked Israeli journalist Almog Boker to delete his post on X. Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
“While Hamas is holding 136 Israeli hostages in Gaza, I cannot share information that could harm them or identify survivors.
“I hope UNRWA takes this matter more seriously than the theft of Hamas shares and the misuse of its public facilities for terrorist activities.”
UNRWA did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Post.
If the allegations are true, the US must “immediately disavow this terrorist-sympathetic organization,” Blackburn told Fox News.
“Not one more US taxpayer dollar should be used to fund UNRWA,” he said.
“We’ve known for years that this is an antisemitic organization,” Blackburn claimed. “It has become clear that the United Nations is complicit in Hamas terrorism.”
Boker responded by saying it was the testimony of a recently released hostage. AFP via Getty Images
The UN also came under fire after the IDF post a video troops found what appeared to be rockets, mortars and other explosives hidden under UNRWA boxes in a residential house.
Reuters previously reported that the former head teacher at a UNRWA school also helped build rockets for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad while working for the international agency.
It also shared posts from UNRWA teachers and administrators celebrating the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people, including 33 Americans.
As a result, Germany announced last week it would freeze funding to UNRWA.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
