More Incriminating Evidence Found Against UNRWA as Biden Admin Publicly Pushes for Palestinian State
JERUSALEM, Israel – As more incriminating evidence surfaces in Gaza against UNRWA, the U.N. body tasked with caring for Palestinian refugees, the U.S. has reverted to pushing for a Palestinian state ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken's sixth visit to the region since the Israel-Hamas war began last October.
Israeli soldiers in Gaza's second largest city, Khan Younis, destroyed an underground weapons manufacturing workshop belonging to Islamic Jihad, used to produce long-range rockets, anti-tank mines, and more.
At the same time, soldiers found weapons, including Kalashnikov rifles and hand grenades hidden in bags belonging to UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency).
Israel presented evidence that 12 UNRWA workers participated in the Hamas massacre on October 7th, prompting a number of countries to say they are freezing aid to UNRWA.
Israel contends about 10 percent of some 13,000 UNRWA employees are Hamas or Palestinian Jihad operatives, and around half are immediate relatives of Hamas operatives.
*** 'UNRWA Is a Horror Show': House Investigates UN Workers' Involvement in Oct 7 Hamas Attack
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with a delegation Wednesday comprised of U.N. ambassadors who came to see for themselves the evidence of the attack on Israel.
He cautioned, "UNRWA is totally infiltrated with Hamas. It has been in the service of Hamas and its schools, and in many other things."
Netanyahu added, "I say this with great regret because we hoped that there would be an objective and constructive body to offer aid. We need such a body today in Gaza. But UNRWA is not that body. It has to be replaced by some organization or organizations that will do that job."
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Meanwhile, the U.S. is publicly pressing for the establishment of a Palestinian state as a solution to the Gaza conflict ahead of Blinken's expected visit at the end of the week.
State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller declared, "We are actively pursuing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with real security guarantees for Israel, because we do believe that is the best way to bring about lasting peace and security for Israel, for Palestinians and for the region."
That principle was enshrined in the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization 30 years ago. For Israel, that idea is a non-starter.
Maurice Hirsch, a legal analyst for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, contends the accords never had a chance because the Palestinians didn't consider them as peace agreements.
"(PLO leader) Yasser Arafat, soon after they were signed, likened the accords to the Hudaybiyyah agreement that Muhammad signed (in the 7th century), which he then used – almost as a Trojan horse – to conquer Mecca," Hirsch explained. "The PLO never gave up on what it said was its 10-point plan. This was a plan that had been adopted already in the 1970s that says we will take any territory given to us and then use that territory as a basis to continue attacking Israel and to bring about its ultimate demise."
In 2005, with the Bush administration's backing, Israel forced more than 8.500 Israelis out of thriving Jewish agricultural communities in the Gaza Strip as a move toward peace in what was known as the Disengagement.
For 18 years, Hamas and Islamic Jihad launched tens of thousands of rockets at Israel, built more than 350 miles worth of terror tunnels in the Gaza Strip, and mounted numerous attacks on Israel, culminating in the October 7th massacre.
Meanwhile, National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby told the Jewish Federation that hostage negotiations are "going in the right" direction as both sides consider a proposal for an extended cease-fire and phased return of the hostages.
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