{"id":255,"date":"2024-01-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2024-01-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T00:00:00","slug":"desprezo-por-colonna-os-lideres-da-unrwa-continuam-a-promover-o-terrorismo","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/israelagora.com.br\/en\/?page_id=255","title":{"rendered":"Contempt For Colonna: UNRWA Leaders Continue to Promote Terrorism"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\r\n\tI. Despite Promising to Implement Colonna reforms, UNRWA in Gross Violation of Neutrality Obligations<\/p>

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UNRWA is in gross breach of the neutrality commitments that it recently made to donors in connection with the April 2024 Colonna Report. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini has caved into the demands of a terrorist coalition in Lebanon to reinstate Hamas-linked school principal and union leader Fateh al-Sharif, following a two-month pressure campaign against UNRWA`s senior management in Lebanon. Dutch aid minister Liesje Schreinemacher told parliament in April that the Netherlands would not renew funding to UNRWA unless it implements the Colonna Report`s recommendations. In light of UNRWA`s handling of the al-Sharif case, which is documented below, we urge the Netherlands not to resume funding to UNRWA. \r\n<\/p>

\r\nUNRWA chief Lazzarini initiated an external review of UNRWA in mid-January 2024 in response to revelations about the agency`s terror ties, including a 3,000-member UNRWA staff Telegram group and the participation of at least 12 UNRWA employees in the October 7 Hamas attack. The mandate of that review, headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, was to “conduct an independent review of mechanisms and procedures to ensure adherence by UNRWA to the humanitarian principle of neutrality.” The Colonna Review Group published its final report, containing 50 separate recommendations, on April 20, 2024. This was immediately followed by a commitment from UNRWA to implement the report, and a cascade of donors agreeing to renew funding.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nSeparate and apart from UNRWA`s commitments under the Colonna Report, UNRWA is also bound by UN & UNRWA staff regulations on neutrality (See Colonna Report p. 18), the UNRWA Code of Ethics (newly updated in February 2024), and commitments to other donors. Both UN and UNRWA regulations require staff to “avoid any action and in particular any kind of public pronouncement which may adversely reflect on their status, or on the integrity, independence and impartiality which are required by that status.” The Code of Ethics further explains that UNRWA employees should “not take sides in situations of armed conflict, public controversies or other political, racial, religious, or ideological disputes.” The Code of Ethics is also clear that “attending demonstrations ” that are political or could become politicized” or “displaying controversial flags or symbols, or holding political meetings or religious services in UNRWA installations” all constitute neutrality breaches.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nRegarding specific donor commitments, we note that when the European Commission announced on March 1 that it would allocate an additional 68 Million Euro to UNRWA, it highlighted UNRWA`s commitments to (1) review its staff to make sure they did not participate in October 7, (2) launch an audit by EU appointed external experts to review UNRWA controls to prevent involvement of staff in terrorist activities, and (3) strengthen its department of internal investigations. It also welcomed the Colonna review which would “assess whether the Agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and respond to allegations of serious breaches.”\r\n<\/p>

\r\nLikewise, even though the U.S. funding freeze has been extended until March 2025, $121 million had already been transferred to UNRWA by the end of January 2024, and UNRWA is still bound by its commitments in its 2023-24 Framework Agreement with the U.S. These include, (1) addressing neutrality violations in line with UNRWA`s neutrality framework, including prompt and transparent disciplinary proceedings for staff violations, (2) ensuring U.S. assistance is not used to aid a refugee “who is receiving military training as a member of the so-called Palestinian Liberation Army, or any guerilla-type organization or anyone who has engaged in any act of terrorism,” and (3) to ensure that U.S. funding “does not provide assistance to, or otherwise support, terrorists or terrorist organizations.”\r\n<\/p>

\r\nUNRWA`s handling of the Al-Sharif case breaches all of these obligations and commitments.\r\n<\/p>

\r\n1. Staff union politicization & support for Hamas. The Colonna report expressly found that UNRWA staff unions are “politicized” and “have sometimes resisted management disciplinary actions, including on neutrality” (p. 32). This is clear from past cases where the staff unions rallied behind teachers who had been suspended for neutrality violations connected to terrorism. In 2011, when UNRWA principal\/Hamas member Suhail al-Hindi was suspended for his Hamas activities, the Gaza staff union protested for three months until al-Hindi returned to work. The next year, al-Hindi was elected head of that staff union. Indeed, Hamas has controlled the UNRWA Gaza staff union for years. In 2023, when teacher Riad Nimr was suspended for posting support for terrorism on Facebook, the Lebanon staff union orchestrated three weeks of protests until Nimr was returned to work.As far back as 2013, al-Sharif had endorsed the kidnapping and murder of an Israeli soldier, writing “resistance” “by all means” is “our right.” Al-Sharif`s support for, and association with, Hamas was no secret. Everyone at UNRWA knew about this. <\/p>

\r\nInstead of Firing al-Sharif, UNRWA awarded al-Sharif a Certificate of Excellence. Yet, not only did UNRWA take no action against al-Sharif, it awarded him with a Certificate of Excellence in October 2019. <\/p>

\r\nOther UNRWA Lebanon employees are in gross breach of neutrality. Aside from al-Sharif, many other UNRWA Lebanon employees have been implicated in neutrality violations and should be investigated and disciplined. At a minimum, these include all of the UNRWA employees that clicked like on al-Sharif`s hateful Facebook posts and all of the UNRWA Lebanon employees ” some 2,000 ” that have been participating in the strikes in support of al-Sharif, shutting down UNRWA services, and demanding that al-Sharif be reinstated. <\/p>

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\r\n4. Breach of commitment to EU in exchange for funding. When the EU announced 68 million Euros of funding to UNRWA on March 1, it specifically commended the fact that the Colonna Review was going to “assess whether the Agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and respond to allegations of serious breaches.” However, the Al-Sharif case shows that UNRWA is not doing everything in its power to ensure neutrality, as Hamas-member al-Sharif appears to still be employed by UNRWA and to head the UNRWA Lebanon teachers” union. \r\n<\/p>

\r\n5. Gross violations of commitments to U.S. UNRWA received $121 million from the U.S. in 2024. Pursuant to UNRWA`s framework for cooperation agreement with the U.S., UNRWA must conduct prompt and transparent disciplinary proceedings for staff violations. The proceedings against al-Sharif have been neither prompt nor transparent, as UNRWA has refused to publicly clarify al-Sharif`s current employment status. Moreover, UNRWA is to ensure that funding does not go to support any refugee who has received military training from a terrorist organization, or to support terrorism. Not enough is known about al-Sharif`s Hamas activities to ascertain whether these provisions have been breached, but UNRWA should be conducting a full investigation about al-Sharif`s Hamas ties and activities and publicize its findings. \r\n<\/p>

\r\nII. Dorothy Klaus Suspends Al-Sharif For Colonna Review, But Refuses to Fire Him<\/p>

\r\nIn the wake of October 7th, UNRWA premises in Lebanon experienced months of political protests and fundraising campaigns related to the war in Gaza at the behest of the UNRWA Teachers Staff Union. This activity, in clear violation of UNRWA neutrality rules, paralyzed the UNRWA school system in Lebanon. These protests continued unchecked for months. UNRWA took action only in February 2024 because of the public scrutiny it was facing after its largest donors had suspended funding over severe neutrality breaches by UNRWA staff and the Lazzarini appointed the external review led by Catherine Colonna to assess UNRWA`s compliance with neutrality. These developments prompted UNRWA Lebanon Director Dorothy Klaus to summon several UNRWA school principals who had been leading the disruptive political activities, warning them that they were in violation of UNRWA neutrality and that they would have to resign if they refused to comply.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nDespite the warnings from Klaus, the disruptive political activities on UNRWA premises in Lebanon continued. Therefore, on February 26, Klaus summoned Fateh al-Sharif, one of the protest leaders who is also the principal of UNRWA`s Deir Yassin High School and head of the UNRWA Lebanon teachers” union, and informed him that he had until March 2 to resign or face an investigation for his political activities on UNRWA premises. When al-Sharif declined to resign, Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini sent him an email confirming his suspension for three months for “political activities violating neutrality.”\r\n<\/p>

\r\nIn addition to being a leader of the post-October 7th protests in UNRWA facilities, Al-Sharif is also a Hamas member. He has attended Hamas events, rallies, and funerals, always appearing near the Hamas leadership. For example, in December 2021, Al-Sharif participated in the funeral of three Hamas members who had been killed by the Palestinian Authority. He eulogized the Hamas members as “our martyrs” and “men of high importance” and wished “curses upon those who killed them,” referring to the PA forces. As noted above, key Hamas leaders attended al-Sharif`s son`s wedding. Al-Sharif also has close personal ties with other terrorists. In June 2023, al-Sharif mourned the death of his friend Sheikh Haitham Abdul Karim Al-Saadi (“Abu Tariq”), deputy emir of the Islamic Ansar League ” designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., UK, Canada, the UN, and others ” whom he referred to as his “honorable brothers.”\r\n<\/p>

\r\nIII. UNRWA Union and Terrorist Groups Unite to Threaten UNRWA Officials<\/p>

\r\nAl-Sharif`s suspension provoked significant backlash. The UNRWA Lebanon teachers” union quickly issued “Statement No. 1,” characterizing the suspension as an “existential threat,” “blackmail,” and a “declaration of war,” while praising al-Sharif`s reputation as a union leader, as well as al-Sharif`s leadership in hiring hundreds of UNRWA teachers.\r\n<\/p>

\r\n“Whoever does not know who “Fateh Amin Sharif” is among his people, let him know that he is a man the size of a nation, and whoever dares to blackmail this important person is blackmailing our Palestinian people in Lebanon from the far north to the far south. Neither UNRWA nor any framework in this world, no matter how high its status, can blackmail us with our patriotism, thought, and belonging to our beloved land”\r\n<\/p>

\r\n“[Klaus] is playing with fire and an existential war in which only the owners of the land and the cause will remain,” indicating that “neither the UNRWA agency nor any framework in this world, no matter how high its status, can blackmail us.”\r\n<\/p>

\r\nPalestinian terrorist groups such as Hamas, through its Office of Refugee Affairs, and the PFLP defended al-Sharif, framing UNRWA`s actions as an attack on Palestinian national identity ” “the national affiliation of our people`s employees is a red line that we do not allow to be crossed.”\r\n<\/p>

\r\nSubsequently, a coalition of Palestinian terrorist groups, including the Palestinian Forces Alliance, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Democratic Front (DFLP), the Islamic Forces, civil committees, representatives of the Palestine Scholars Council and Association, the Houthis, and the Popular Committees made a “declaration of conflict and administrative disobedience” with UNRWA. These groups made it clear that the PLO and PA were not welcomed as part of the coalition. They imposed a nationwide strike in 62 UNRWA schools affecting 36,000 children, proclaiming this as a warning that would escalate if the decision was not reversed. The protests also forced the shutdown of UNRWA`s Beirut headquarters.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThis terrorist coalition also made direct threats to UNRWA Lebanon Director Dorothy Klaus insinuating that she was working with Zionist forces despite Klaus`s adamant stance that she was only trying to reassure donor states. In one statement the coalition asked:\r\n<\/p>

\r\n“In whose interest will the file of accountability for intellectual and political affiliation be activated at this time” Who is the instigator of this” For whose benefit does this new terrorism practice against specific intellectual and political trends under the pretext of supporting donor countries” Are the Director General, her team, and those who incited her able to bear the consequences of this new and dangerous trend.”\r\n<\/p>

\r\nIn a joint letter, the coalition wrote:\r\n<\/p>

\r\n“The UNRWA administration in Lebanon, represented by its Director General, Mrs. Dorothy Klaus, crosses all red lines and ignites fire with its own hands to destroy UNRWA, in complement and harmony with the malicious projects that aim to liquidate the issue.”\r\n<\/p>

\r\n“The Palestinian political forces are determined to wage the confrontation until the end so as not to repeat the rosary and threaten employees with dismissal as a sword drawn over their necks under the pretext of violating “neutrality,” which means stripping national affiliation in favor of the job or stopping financial funding for “UNRWA,” considering that the political forces refuse. UNRWA`s attempts to classify employees, distinguish between them, and threaten them, stressing that the threat of employees by the agency`s director in Lebanon, Dorothy Klaus, is a tampering with the social security and civil stability of the Palestinian community in Lebanon\r\n<\/p>

\r\nIn the picture below, Fateh al-Sharif is seen delivering a speech in front of the UNRWA HQ in Beirut with a banner featuring Dorothy Klaus with a red X over her face. The second picture is the posters put up by the student forces of Klaus.\r\n<\/p>

\r\n The same politicization marks the months of protests on behalf of Fateh al-Sharif who heads the UNRWA Lebanon staff union, is a principal in the UNRWA Deir Yassin school, and is also an active member of Hamas. Like with Suhail al-Hindi and Riad Nimr, the UNRWA Lebanon staff union led more than two months of protests, including school strikes across Lebanon, forced UNRWA`s Beirut headquarters to shutdown, and threatened UNRWA`s Lebanon Director Dorothy Klaus, accusing her of blackmailing al-Sharif, until UNRWA Chief Phillipe Lazzarini finally caved to the pressure. Clearly UNRWA has not dealt with the issue of politicization among its staff unions.\r\n<\/p>

\r\n2. Hamas-linked unions threaten management. The Colonna report also found that UNRWA`s staff unions have used “intimidation tactics and threats” to force “numerous UNRWA directors to be transferred to different positions and contexts for their own security” (p. 32). As detailed below, in the context of the Al-Sharif rallies, the Lebanon teachers” union issued a statement that UNRWA Lebanon Director Dorothy Klaus was “playing with fire,” accused her of “blackmail,” and created a large banner depicting Klaus with a big red X on her face which was displayed behind al-Sharif when he addressed one of the rallies. The Al-Sharif protests were also backed by a coalition of terrorists which likewise threatened UNRWA, accusing Klaus of doing Israel`s bidding, and saying she had crossed “all red lines” and was “ignit[ing] fire with [her] own hands to destroy UNRWA.” As in the past, UNRWA allowed itself to be threatened and succumbed to the pressure. Lazzarini even met and negotiated with the terrorists. The Al-Sharif case shows that nothing has changed at UNRWA in this regard.\r\n<\/p>

\r\n3. Gross violation of neutrality obligations under UN & UNRWA Regulations and ethics code. While UNRWA did suspend al-Sharif in February 2024, al-Sharif`s current status is unclear. The reports discussed below indicate that UNRWA suspended al-Sharif and asked for his resignation, but that he refused. According to the Palestinian Refugees Portal website, Lazzarini agreed to cancel the suspension in exchange for ending the UNRWA strike that was paralyzing UNRWA`s operations in Lebanon. The Colonna Report recommended UNRWA to “strengthen disciplinary processes across the agency” (p. 24). UNRWA`s handling of the al-Sharif case reflects the opposite.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nAs detailed below, the evidence is overwhelming that al-Sharif and his UNRWA colleagues in Lebanon grossly breached their neutrality obligations and that al-Sharif should have been fired long ago. \r\n<\/p>

\r\nAl-Sharif is a member of Hamas. As shown below, Al-Sharif has attended Hamas events, rallies, and funerals, always appearing near the Hamas leadership. Key Hamas leaders attended his son`s wedding, including Ahmad Abd Al-Hadi who just told a Lebanese newspaper that if Hamas could go back in time, it would still commit the October 7 attack. It is not accidental that a person like al-Sharif who is closely associated with Hamas heads the UNRWA Lebanon teachers” union. This is exactly the same modus operandi seen with Suhail al-Hindi in Gaza in 2011-12. This alone constitutes a breach of neutrality.<\/p>

\r\nAl-Sharif openly supports terrorism on Facebook. A quick glance at Al-Sharif`s Facebook page, which has 4,000 friends, shows that he openly supports Hamas and other terrorist groups in breach of UN & UNRWA regulations and the UNRWA Code of Ethics. For example, on October 7, al-Sharif praised the Hamas attacks, proclaiming “God is the greatest, God is the greatest On July 2, 2019, he praised Hamas leader Hassan Youssef as a “firm leader,” adding “we are all proud of you.” On November 21, 2021, he celebrated Hamas terrorist Fadi Abu Shkhidem with the words “our blood creates victory” after Abu Shkhidem was killed carrying out a terrorist attack that killed one and injured four. On November 23, 2023, Al-Sharif also endorsed Hamas`s hostage-taking as a strategy to get convicted Palestinian terrorists released from Israeli jails. These are just some examples of many.<\/p>

\r\nOrganizes politicized student protests on UNRWA premises. As detailed below, Al-Sharif proudly boasts on Facebook about the many political rallies he organized for his students in UNRWA camps and facilities, including within school grounds, clearly violating UNRWA`s Code of Ethics. At one of these rallies, a student is seen holding a Hamas flag. <\/p>

\r\nUNRWA knew about al-Sharif`s terror support for years but took no action. Al-Sharif`s 4,000 Facebook friends include many UNRWA teachers. As shown below, his posts supporting Hamas are often liked by his UNRWA teacher friends. A February 28, 2015 post endorsing violent resistance as “an honor” was liked by several UNRWA employees. Likewise, his July 2, 2019 post praising Hamas leader Hassam Youssef was also liked by several UNRWA employees.

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Publicado em 06\/22\/2024 20h43<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Artigo original: <\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n