A UN office investigating Israeli accusations that 12 staff members from UN Palestine relief agency UNRWA were involved
in the 7 October Hamas-led attacks has closed one of the cases because Israel had not provided any supporting evidence,
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Friday.
“We are exploring corrective administrative action to be taken in that person’s case,” he said, speaking during the daily press briefing in New York.
Meanwhile, eight staff remain under investigation by the UN’s internal oversight body, OIOS, which also suspended three
cases “as the information provided by Israel is not sufficient for OIOS to proceed with an investigation”.
UNRWA is now also considering what administrative action to take in those three cases.Immediate action taken
The accusations surfaced in January when Israel informed UNRWA of the alleged involvement of the staff members in the
brutal assault on its territory. Some 1,200 people were killed and another 250 were taken to Gaza as hostages.
Of the 12 people implicated, UNRWA immediately identified and terminated the contracts of 10, while two were confirmed
dead.
The UN Secretary-General immediately ordered OIOS to investigate, while an independent panel was appointed to conduct a
separate assessment into whether UNRWA is doing everything to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious
breaches when they arise.
The panel, headed by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, published its report on Monday which found that “the set of rules and the mechanisms and procedures in place [at UNRWA] are the most
elaborate within the UN system”.Seven more cases
Mr. Dujarric said the UN subsequently received information from Israel about seven more cases – five in March and two in
April. One case has also been suspended pending receipt of additional supporting evidence, and OIOS are investigating
the remainder.
“OIOS has also informed us that its investigators had travelled to Israel for discussions with the Israeli authorities
and will undertake another visit in May. These discussions are continuing and have so far been productive and have
enabled progress on the investigations,” he said.No alternative to UNRWA
The initial Israeli allegations prompted 16 countries to stop contributing to UNRWA, which mainly relies on donations to
fund its operations across five locations in the Middle East, including Gaza.
The agency is the largest humanitarian organisation in besieged Gaza, where more than 34,000 Palestinians have been
killed since 7 October, according to the authorities.
This week, Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said several donor countries “have come back”, and UNRWA has
sufficient funding to keep operations running until the end of June.
Separately, UNRWA launched a $1.2 billion appeal to meet urgent needs in Gaza and in the West Bank, where violence is increasing.
“The past months proved that there is no replacement or alternative to UNRWA,” Mr. Lazzarini said on Wednesday,
announcing the appeal.