By David Bedein, (Behind the news in Israel)
9-8-2016
For full article go to: http://tinyurl.com/z4yqpbm
Over the past week, the World Vision, a
well-known humanitarian organization, was formally accused and indicted for
secretly aiding military activities of Hamas, designated as an FTO by the US –
a “Foreign Terror Organization”.
Yet a much larger humanitarian organization
looms on the horizon, which openly aids Hamas military operations.
That organization is UNRWA, the agency that
hosts descendants of Arab refugees from the 1948 war in refugee facilities for
perpetuity.
UNRWA operates with a budget of more than one
billion dollars, provided by more than forty western nations. The US is the
leading donor to UNRWA, donating $400 million each year to UNRWA.
Working with an Israeli-Palestinian team of
journalists over the past few years, I have documented and filmed how UNRWA
allocates cash from donor nations to conduct military training for children in
the UNRWA classroom along with weapons training camps which Hamas organizes for
UNRWA children.
Al-Kutla al-Islamiya, a division of Hamas, runs
military activities, which attract UNRWA’s younger students, paving the way for
recruitment in al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas.
UNRWA “education” teaches children how to
fight, shoot lethal weapons, use hand grenades, and climb through various
spaces all in preparation for war.
After exposure to al-Kutla, elementary and
middle schoolers join a week long war games program, held in a military
campment, where they study “jihad, determination, to trust Allah and other
Islamic values” in addition to military tactics.
Here is a case where a UN agency actually
violates the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child, which states “children…
should not be forced or recruited to take part in a war or join the armed
forces”.
Yet all this is occurs in the public domain,
without a peep from 38 nations that donate more than a billion dollars each
year to UNRWA, with the notable exception of Canada.
Ottawa suspended aid to the UNRWA general fund
in 2008, in response to a report commissioned by the European Parliament, which
documented how Hamas was elected to run the UNRWA teachers association and the
UNRWA workers association. Now there is a move in the new Canadian government
to restore Canadian tax dollars to the general fund of UNRWA.
Yet binding legislation passed by the US
Congress requires UNRWA to vet personnel to see determine if there are
terrorists on their payroll is ignored.
UNRWA simply refuses to vet personnel in the
UNRWA facilities, which operate in the areas under the control of the
Palestinian Authority, and no one is asking them to do so, including the US.
After the March 2009 election, when Hamas was
again elected to run the UNRWA workers union and UNRWA teachers association in
Gaza, Congress asked the newly appointed Sec’y of State Hilary Clinton for
comment on whether she would demand the removal of terrorists from the payroll
Of UNRWA.
Amazingly, Clinton told Congress that there was
no evidence of Taliban activity in UNRWA – even though Taliban have never played
a role in that part of the Middle East.
In her four years as secretary of state,
Clinton did nothing to impede Hamas domination of US funded UNRWA facilities.
The US Congressional Research Service reports
that the US has never asked if UNRWA humanitarian funds wind up in the hands of
HAMAS or if HAMAS is present in UNRWA.
Yet UNRWA remains in violation of US
penal code § 2339B – providing material support or resources to a
designated FTO.
On the record, the Hamas Minister of Religion
told us on camera “Hamas’ relationship with UNRWA is good, very good! We assist
UNRWA and Hamas cooperates with UNRWA on many levels. Now a direct connection
exists between UNRWA and Hamas.”
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