The reaction of the United States and some countries in Europe to Israeli allegations that some staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) took part in the October 7 Hamas attack simply firms up contention that the United States is in the service of Israel and Europe in fear. The outrage exhibited by these countries has vastly surpassed that of the victim.
The swift decision by UNRWA to dismiss the 12 accused staff out of the 13,000 in Gaza – an act that’s in breach of due process – isn’t enough to assuage the anger of the United States and the clutch of countries in its orbit. Never mind that Israel’s claim raises suspicion that it is a public relations manoeuvre to draw attention away from the International Court of Justice rulings delivered a day earlier which in effect condemned its actions in Gaza.
Having lit the fuse, Israel was content to let the United States spread the fire of hostility towards UNRWA. It initiated what it described as a pause in funding UNRWA activities in Gaza, soon followed by some other countries in its orbit. The agency’s humanitarian activities will soon be grounded if this cynical pause persists for long.
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Israel and UNRWA are near-twins; the agency was established in 1950 to cater for the 750,000 Palestinians driven from their homes by Jewish terrorist groups Haganah, Irgun and the Stern Gang to make way for the present State of Israel. It still does, except that Palestinian refugees now number six million across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Israel has always opposed UNRWA, seeking to cripple it by any means possible and thus bury the Palestinian cause. The rest of the world should follow Norway’s conscionable step and refuse the comfort of herd mentality.
Mohammed Tukur Usman wrote via [email protected]
