UN backs ICJ view clearing UNRWA of Hamas ties; Israel denounces vote

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini welcomes a UN General Assembly vote endorsing the International Court of Justice’s view that allegations of Hamas infiltration of the agency are unsubstantiated, calling the resolution “a strong endorsement” of UNRWA’s neutrality.

“The UN General Assembly has given a strong endorsement to the ruling by the International Court of Justice that claims about UNRWA being infiltrated by Hamas are not substantiated, nor are allegations that UNRWA is not a neutral organisation,” Lazzarini writes on X, adding that the vote is “an important sign of support for UNRWA from the overwhelming majority of the international community.”

Citing the ICJ, he says UNRWA is “the key humanitarian actor in the occupied Palestinian territory,” urging member states to support its work in Gaza and expand “critical public health and education services.”

The @UN General Assembly has given a strong endorsement to the ruling by the International Court of Justice that claims about @UNRWA being infiltrated by Hamas are not substantiated, nor are allegations that UNRWA is not a neutral organisation. 

This vote is an important sign of… pic.twitter.com/8O4zFqP1ab

— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) December 12, 2025

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, sharply rejects the endorsement, writing on X: “UNRWA = hotbed of terrorism.”

Danon accuses the General Assembly of passing “a resolution calling on Israel to cooperate with terrorism,” adding, “That will not happen.”

“We will not forget the crimes against humanity committed by UNRWA workers on October 7th,” Danon writes. “We will not forget that an UNRWA ‘social worker’ kidnapped Yonatan Samerano’s lifeless body to Gaza. For the sake of peace in the world, UNRWA must go.”

UNRWA = hotbed of terrorism.

Earlier today, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling on Israel to cooperate with terrorism. That will not happen.
We will not forget the crimes against humanity committed by UNRWA workers on October 7th.
We will not forget that an… pic.twitter.com/bEQD3GhNjK

— Danny Danon ???????? דני דנון (@dannydanon) December 12, 2025

In a video published in February 2024 from the Hamas terror group’s October 7 massacre in southern Israel, an UNRWA employee can be seen abducting Samerano’s body from Israel into the back of an SUV.