From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 29, 2024
NYT: UNRWA employees accused of kidnapping woman, taking part in kibbutz massacre
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Details have been published about some of Israel’s specific accusations against individual employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and their descendants, UNRWA, which have caused the agency to fire 12 workers and many countries to halt their funding for the body.
The New York Times, citing a dossier provided to the US government, reports that one UNRWA school counselor from Khan Younis in southern Gaza is “accused of working with his son to abduct a woman from Israel.”
“A social worker from Nuseirat, in central Gaza, is accused of helping to bring the body of a dead Israeli soldier to Gaza, as well as distributing ammunition and coordinating vehicles on the day of the attack,” the report continues.
It also says a third employee is “described as taking part in the massacre at a kibbutz where 97 people died” — apparently Kibbutz Be’eri, which was ravaged on October 7 in the Hamas-led onslaught.
The Times says the dossier details the names, details and positions in UNRWA of the 12 people, and contends that 10 of the UNRWA workers in question are members of Hamas while one belongs to Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The report says Israel’s intelligence is based on tracking the phones of six of the people, monitoring of phone calls by others who allegedly discussed their involvement in the onslaught, and text messages received by three others, including one ordering him to bring RPGs stored at his home.
The Times of Israel Community.