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Matthias Schmale (archive photo): “Even in my time, I always observed very closely how people work and how they behave.”

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STAFF / REUTERS

The UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA is in focus: several employees are said to have been involved in the massacre by the terrorist organization Hamas in Israel on October 7th, and several countries have suspended their payments to UNRWA, including Germany. For the former head of the organization, the timing of the reports about the involvement of UNRWA employees is no coincidence - Matthias Schmale believes it to be politically motivated. The reports emerged shortly after the International Court of Justice's ruling was announced, he said on "Deutschlandfunk".

The court ruled a few days ago that Israel must provide humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, but does not have to immediately stop its military operations in the area. In response to the Hamas attack and the abduction of hundreds of hostages, the Israeli army launched an offensive. Large parts of the Gaza Strip have now been destroyed, with devastating consequences for the civilian population.

Investigations have been initiated

Israel had provided the aid organization with information about the employees in question. They were fired and an investigation began. UN Secretary General António Guterres was horrified and threatened those affected with criminal consequences. In the attacks on October 7th, terrorists from the Gaza Strip's ruling Hamas and other extremist Palestinian groups in Israel murdered more than 1,200 people - the trigger for the latest Gaza war.

Schmale said on Deutschlandfunk that humanitarian aid could not be provided in the Gaza Strip without pragmatic cooperation with Hamas. But this does not mean agreeing with their goals or supporting them. However, there is currently no alternative to the work of the refugee aid organization. It is entirely possible that employees were involved; the reports did not surprise him. “But the timing seems very politically determined to me,” he said.

There is currently no evidence for Schmale's claim - the allegations against the UNRWA employees are based on a dossier from the Israeli secret service. It was said to have been handed over to American officials on Friday, report the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, who said they were able to see the report.

Schmale does not believe it is likely that around ten percent of the aid agency's approximately 12,000 employees working in the Gaza Strip have connections to Hamas or Islamist Jihad, as the Wall Street Journal reported, citing the dossier. There are people among the employees who have sympathies for Hamas. "But during my time, we always observed very closely how people work, how they behave, whether they behaved in accordance with UN values ​​and took measures when we understood that this was not the case."

At that time, eight people were “expelled” over a period of almost four years – not just because of connections to Hamas, but because of behavior that did not correspond to the values ​​of the United Nations, said Schmale. That is a much smaller percentage. “I think what has just appeared in the Wall Street Journal is totally exaggerated.”

Meanwhile, Guterres is campaigning for further funding for UNRWA. Guterres was “personally horrified” by the allegations against the twelve suspected Hamas collaborators, a spokesman said. "But his message to donors - especially those who have interrupted their contributions - is to at least ensure the continuity of UNRWA's work." The UN relief agency has tens of thousands of committed employees in the region.

The Israeli ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that he believes the connections between UNRWA employees and Hamas are deeper than expected. In its current form, UNRWA is not part of the solution, but rather an obstacle on the path to peace.

til/dpa