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For the first time ever, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Czechia, Bulgaria and Latvia withheld support for renewing UNRWA's mandate, at a vote on Friday at the UN General Assembly. Germany's Der Spiegel called it a “remarkable political shift.”

And in a vote on a second UNRWA resolution on Friday, those six EU countries were further joined by Austria, Romania and Lithuania. In previous years, all 27 EU states voted in favour of these resolutions.

The voting changes came in wake of UN Watch's parliamentary testimony and media appearances in Germany and Italy, releasing a major report that exposed UNRWA's terror ties.

“For the first time, Germany has rejected an extension of the mandate for UNRWA,” reported Der Spiegel. The preliminary vote took place in November, and was finalized at the UNGA on Friday.

Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said that Berlin first expected "consistent and verifiable reforms within UNRWA."

Promised reforms at UNRWA have “not been adequately implemented,” said Wadephul, which is why “we have significantly adjusted our voting behavior compared to previous years.”

“And that is why, for the first time, we did not agree to an extension of the mandate, but abstained," said Germany's foreign minister, “because we want to make it clear that we expect a significant change, particularly in the work of the UNRWA relief agency in the Palestinian territories. There has been unacceptable cooperation there, in some cases with groups that are completely opposed to Israel and have fomented hostility.”

“We have therefore drawn the necessary conclusions and hope that this will now be understood and that the necessary reforms will finally be implemented.”

Germany's Green Party criticized the abstention, calling it “a devastating signal.” 

UN Watch Exposed UNRWA Terror Network

UN Watch's launch of its new UNRWA Terror Network, an interactive investigative platform exposing the systemic infiltration of UNRWA by terrorist organizations, was recently covered on the front page of Germany's Die Welt newspaper— see excerpt below.

In addition, in September, UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer spoke in the German Parliament and at a Berlin press conference to present UN Watch's report, Schools in the Grip of Terror. Germany remains the top funder of UNRWA, at some $200 million per year.

UN Watch's revelations were reported by Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Berliner Morgenpost, Hamburger Abendblatt, Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, and other newspapers.

After Berlin, Neuer went to Italy and spoke at the Senate in Rome to present UN Watch's evidence. He was interviewed live on RAI, Italy's national broadcaster. UN Watch's report was also covered by La Stampa, Il Tempo, and Il Riformista.

New Allegations Against the UNRWA Palestinian Relief Agency

By Philip Volkmann-Schluck
Managing Editor Foreign Affairs

UNRWA consistently rejects allegations of infiltration as a “disinformation campaign.” In response, UN Watch has now presented extensive documentation, which WELT was able to view in advance. The interactive network reflects ‘a decade’ of investigations, it says.

It includes nearly 500 individuals who are alleged to have links between UNRWA and Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other organizations, with more than 889 documented cross-links between them. The network shows UN teachers in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Jordan, and the West Bank who also hold high positions in Islamist organizations.

In addition, many employees of the UN agency have publicly expressed their support for terrorism, murder, and the destruction of Israel and have met with high-ranking Hamas figures. The evidence appears extremely extensive for some individuals, resembling in part the files kept by Israeli intelligence services.

The documentation even shows pictures of people who have been killed, covered with a blanket bearing the emblem of the terrorist organization. Many of the allegations that have now been collected and made public are already known.

One example is that of Fateh Sharif, who heads the UNRWA teachers' union in Lebanon and was also a senior Hamas official. Sharif was deliberately killed by the Israeli military last year; at that time, the UN had admitted the allegations and already suspended Sharif.

But the collection also includes allegations that, according to UN Watch, will be publicly documented for the first time. These include employees who are said to have been founding members of Hamas and other radical organizations.

The database also shows pictures of meetings between high-ranking UN officials, including UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, and representatives of Hamas. However, these are not secret meetings, but public meetings that took place in the past.

The UN does not designate Hamas as a terrorist organization and always emphasizes that, as a “humanitarian and neutral aid agency,” it must work with the circumstances and rulers on the ground.

However, UN Watch, like the Israeli government, has long doubted this neutrality. “Intelligence findings show that about 12 percent of UNRWA staff in the Gaza Strip are members of Hamas or other organizations classified as terrorist,” the report states. This figure is based on a comparison of employee lists with Hamas documents seized by the Israeli army.

“UNRWA claims to be a humanitarian organization, but the evidence shows that it is infiltrated by Hamas agents,” says UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer.

The problem is not isolated cases, “a few bad apples,” as the International Court of Justice recently ruled. “It is structural, widespread, and deliberate,” Neuer continues.