By Rebel News | Created at 2024-11-18 22:21:15 | Updated at 2024-11-24 00:55:37
5 days ago
IMPACT-se, an Israeli non-profit organization, analyzed five Gazan schools, two of which Hamas tunnels were found under. At these schools, students are taught ‘violent narratives’ and deny Israel’s existence.
A new report shows one in 10 Gazan educators are members of extremist groups, including Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The controversial United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) heralded suspected terror ties long before the October 7 massacre in southern Israel.
More than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed in the terrorist attack, with hundreds more kidnapped by Hamas members. Dozens remain held in captivity throughout the Gaza Strip.
The report comes two weeks after Israel barred the agency from operating in Israel.
IMPACT-se, an Israeli non-profit organization, analyzed five UNRWA schools, two of which Hamas tunnels were found under. At these schools, students are taught “violent narratives,” with educators denying Israel’s existence.
Fifth graders at Al-Zaytun School glorified the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre, which left 38 Israelis dead.
Al-Maghazi School referred to the firebombing of an Israeli bus as a “barbecue party,” and claimed that martyrdom and jihad are “the most important meanings of life.”
“UNRWA has taken no meaningful steps to address the glorification of violence or antisemitic rhetoric in these schools,” reads the report.
UNRWA, established in 1949, was formed under the guise of supporting the health and education needs of some 5.9 million Palestinians across the globe.
However, a UN WATCH report earlier identified 133 educators and staff as promoters of hate and violence on social media. Antisemitism and terror indoctrination is systemic at the agency, it reads.
Mohammad Juma Shuwaideh, the principal of Al Zaytun Boys Preparatory and Elementary School, serves as a squad commander for Hamas.
Both the principal and deputy principal at Al-Maghazi Boys Preparatory School B were also squad commanders for the terror group.
“We are deeply concerned, although unsurprised, by the ongoing revelations of terror links within UNRWA’s educational system,” Marcus Sheff, IMPACT-se CEO, told the National Post.
The non-profit also learned that principals and senior education staff with terror ties continue to draw a salary, even after the October 7 attacks. That substantiates an Israeli intelligence report that claimed UNRWA had 450 “military operatives” on its payroll.
“UNRWA has repeatedly failed to act, despite mounting evidence and repeated warnings of the deep influence of terror groups on UNRWA’s schools. This is not just about accountability, but about protecting young minds from an education that fuels hatred and extremism,” he added.
President-elect Donald Trump is likely to cut off all U.S. aid to the agency, though a similar move does not appear forthcoming from Canada and allied states.
Canada has sent the UN agency some $286 million in funding since 2016. According to Blacklock’s Reporter, Global Affairs Canada could not provide detailed information on where UNRWA spent the money.
The Trudeau government temporarily ceased funding to the agency on January 26, after its director terminated 12 staff for suspected involvement in the October 7 attacks in southern Israel. It recommitted millions more in funding months later.
“At what point does the Liberal government move UNRWA from the willful ignorance column to the willing co-conspirator column and stop sending Canadian tax dollars that are funding terror?” asked Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, a Jewish-Canadian.
Of the taxpayer funding, an unspecified amount went to “identify, monitor and follow up on neutrality violations” within the organization and to maintain transparency on its humanitarian mandate, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The Official Opposition previously said the federal government should be “ashamed” for funding “foreign terrorists and dictators.” However, the feds claimed no aid went to “nefarious actors” in Gaza.
Parliamentarians have been divided over Canada’s response to the Israel-Hamas war, with Conservative MPs pledging to “cut back” aid. The governing Liberals maintain that UNRWA “cannot be replaced,” calling it “the backbone of the humanitarian response.”
“We don’t need more obstacles to get in the way of aid getting in. We already have enough obstacles,” said Ahmed Hussen, Minister of International Development.
Mélanie Joly, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, deplored any boycott of the agency on October 29. “We cannot punish people receiving the aid, … and we cannot punish the work of humanitarian workers who are just trying to help,” she said.
Alex Dhaliwal
Calgary Based Journalist
Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
