The UN says nine employees of its agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA ‘may have been involved’ in Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel.
The Office of Internal Oversight Services says it has completed its investigation into 19 UNRWA staff members alleged to have taken part in the attacks and concluded that in nine cases, “the evidence obtained by OIOS indicated that the UNRWA staff members may have been involved in the armed attacks of 7 October 2023.
“The employment of these individuals will be terminated in the interests of the Agency,” it says.
In nine other cases the OIOS says the evidence of involvement was insufficient, while in one case there was no evidence.
Israel has alleged that hundreds of UNRWA employees have ties to terror groups in Gaza. In January UNRWA said it had fired an unspecified number of staffers, after Israeli authorities provided information that pointed to their active participation in the October 7 terror onslaught. Apparently the nine announced today include staff members let go then.
The accusations led numerous countries to suspend their funding to the organization, but many have since renewed it, citing the difficult humanitarian situation in the Strip.
In April, a review of UNRWA by an independent panel said 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.
UN experts call for the prosecution of Iranian officials who may have committed crimes against humanity during a 2022 crackdown on demonstrations that particularly targeted ethnic and religious minorities.
The UN Human Rights Council mandated experts to carry out an investigation on Iran following nationwide protests triggered by the September 2022 death in police custody of Mahsa Amini. Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, was arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women.
Several hundred people, including members of the security forces, were killed and thousands arrested during the demonstrations.
Iran has called an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation for Wednesday to discuss the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh and Iran’s response.
Tehran and Iran-aligned groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah have accused Israel of killing Haniyeh on July 31 in the Iranian capital. His death was one in a series of killings of senior Hamas figures, as the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel nears its 11th month. Israeli officials have not claimed responsibility.
According to The Guardian, at the meeting, Tehran will seek to convince Arab nations to support it as it plans retribution against Israel.
No comments:
Post a Comment