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A legal battle between the family of an Oct. 7, 2023 attack victim and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has become a lightning rod for ongoing uncertainty about the agency’s future in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli civil rights attorney and president of the Shurat HaDin Law Center, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, told Fox News Digital that she filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Jerusalem on behalf of the family of 21-year-old Yonatan Samerano, who was murdered outside of Kibbutz Be’eri after fleeing the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023. Samerano’s body was returned to his family after 625 days in captivity, during the final stage of hostage releases, Darshan-Leitner said.
According to Darshan-Leitner, after Samerano was shot to death by terrorists, his body was picked up by UNRWA workers, placed in an UNRWA vehicle and kidnapped to Gaza. “Although the kidnapping was by UNRWA’s workers, UNRWA never revealed the place of the body, never cooperated with Israeli authorities to tell them where Yonatan Samerano was held and never admitted that it was done by its workers. And therefore we decided to sue UNRWA on behalf of the family.”
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The difficulty in bringing suit against UNRWA has been the diplomatic immunity the organization enjoys by virtue of the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. Darshan-Leitner said that the charter “specifically prohibits any act of violence, let alone terrorism” and that because “UNRWA was aiding and abetting terror organizations and participating in acts of terrorism, they can no longer enjoy the immunity granted by the treaty.”
The Israeli Knesset passed legislation in December stripping UNRWA of its diplomatic immunity, which allows the Israeli government to expropriate UNRWA properties within East Jerusalem.
Due to UNRWA’s loss of immunity, the Samerano family is pursuing punitive damages of NIS 24 million (nearly $8million) under Israel’s Compensation for Victims of Terrorism Law. When the deadline for UNRWA to file its defense in the case arrived last week, Darshan-Leitner said that the agency asked for a 45-day extension.
UNRWA did not respond to requests for comment about the status of its immunity, or its response to the litigation it faces on behalf of Samerano’s family.
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Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, told Fox News Digital that Guterres has consistently “stated that the Knesset Law and its amendments are inconsistent with the status and international legal framework applicable to UNRWA. The source of UNRWA’s immunities is vested in the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, which remain applicable.”
While Guterres “has been very clear that any UNRWA personnel who has been demonstrated to have participated in the terror attack on Israel on Oct. 7 must be held accountable,” he added that “Whenever we have been given information by the Israeli government on such individuals, we have acted.”
UNRWA’s role in the future of Gaza has been hotly contested in passing months. As the USAID Office of Inspector General and NGO Watch continue to turn up evidence of Hamas infiltration of UNRWA, Finland, Sweden and the U.S. have now fully stopped issuing funds to the organization.
The Board of Peace, charged with the reconstruction of Gaza, has stated that UNRWA will have no role in the future of the Strip.
However, the Associated Press reported on Sept. 25 that the Board of Peace members “have been more open to working with the U.N. agency for Palestine than it seems.” Their article cited a Board of Peace official’s confirmation that “board members had met multiple times with UNRWA officials.”
The Board of Peace shot back on X, saying that its “policy as it relates to UNRWA’s involvement in Gaza is unchanged. We will only work with trusted partners who will deliver for the people of Gaza and contribute to a deradicalized Strip. UNRWA fails on those litmus tests.”
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A U.S. official told Fox News Digital that “The evidence continues to mount that UNRWA has become a vehicle for instability, violence and radicalization, and it has no place in Gaza’s future humanitarian operations. At the same time, we are confident there are many capable and dedicated service providers in Gaza today who, following robust vetting and background checks, will meet the high standards required to deliver critical goods and services to the Palestinian people. We expect many will welcome the opportunity to continue that important work in partnership with credible NGOs, other U.N. entities or alongside the [National Committee for the Administration of Gaza.] Following an orderly wind-down, UNRWA itself will neither be essential nor necessary to accomplishing the work that lies ahead in Gaza.”
Guterres continues to stand behind the organization. In remarks he delivered at the Ministerial Meeting on UNRWA on Sept. 24, the U.N. leader stated that “UNRWA remains a critical stabilizing presence.”
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“For years now, UNRWA has been forced to operate under extraordinary pressure. I have repeatedly condemned in the strongest terms the appalling attacks by Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Since then, UNRWA’s personnel in Gaza have endured terrible loss and hardship. Nearly 400 members of its workforce have been killed. Hundreds of its premises remain inaccessible, severely damaged, or utterly destroyed,” Guterres said.
Guterres also said that “a ceaseless political campaign has tried to manipulate public perceptions, undermine UNRWA’s ability to operate, and deny the rights of Palestine refugees.” He called on U.N. Member States to “take immediate action” to politically and financially support the organization and protect its mandate.
Darshan-Leitner said that allowing UNRWA to continue operations inside Gaza would be problematic. “UNRWA indoctrinated [Palestinian refugees] and let the terror organizations infiltrate their schools and education facilities.” She added that UNRWA facilities “served Hamas as bases, as launchers, as missile storage places,” which both “risk the life of the citizens in Gaza,” and ensure that there will be collateral damage if Israel retaliates against attacks.
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“If the Board of Peace wants to re-educate the people to get rid of the terrorist system, to separate between the terrorists and the citizens of Gaza, it cannot do it when UNRWA is around because UNRWA is embedded in Hamas…UNRWA is Hamas. So letting UNRWA take care of the humanitarian needs of the population in Gaza is a fatal mistake,” Darshan-Leitner said.
