A Liberal Member of Parliament says connections to Hamas are no reason to stop funding UNRWA.An Israeli official has claimed that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency is a "haven for Hamas' radical ideology" after an Israeli intelligence report estimated that around 10% of the agency's 12,000 staffers in Gaza have ties to Hamas and other Islamic terror groups. A dossier provided to the United States and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, estimates that about 1,200 UNRWA's employees in Gaza have links to Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The intelligence suggests that about half of the agency's employees have family members who belong to these, both of which the US has recognized as foreign terror organizations since 1997. The evidence allegedly came from cell phone data, interrogations with Hamas fighters and documents discovered on the bodies of dead militants. The report follows a UN announcement that at least nine UNRWA employees were fired over allegations they participated in Hamas' October 7 massacre that killed over 1,200 people in southern Israel."UNRWA's problem is not just 'a few bad apples' involved in the October 7 massacre," a senior Israeli government official told WSJ. "The institution as a whole is a haven for Hamas' radical ideology."Although the Canadian government is redirecting $40 million of aid to Gaza funds that would have gone to UNRWA, an NDP and a Liberal MP are as supportive as ever.NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson took to Twitter ("X") to encourage people to donate their own money to UNRWA as she is."I have set up a reoccurring donation to @UNRWA," she wrote January 29."UNRWA provides lifesaving support to innocent Palestinian civilians. I believe in the work they do & I stand in solidarity with the 30,000 workers providing life-saving humanitarian aid."On January 30, Liberal MP Salma Zahid issued a statement to praise UNRWA as "the only major organization helping Palestinians on the ground today" and "the thread that desperate Gazans are holding on to."She said her support for UNRWA comes from personal experience."I have met UNRWA leaders. I have seen their dedication and the hard work they are doing firsthand in Jordan and in the West Bank. In Gaza, more than 150 UNRWA employees have lost their lives trying to help Gazans," she wrote.Zahid said she was "troubled by the accusations" against some "UNRWA local contractors" and that such "serious" allegations "must be taken seriously. She said if anyone is guilty they should face "criminal prosecutions" and be "held accountable for their actions.""However, it is unacceptable to tarnish the whole organization with the actions of a few. It is unacceptable to suspend humanitarian funding in the middle of a crisis to the only organization able to effectively deliver humanitarian support to those in need."One day prior, Zahid celebrated the National Action Day Against Islamaphobia. On Twitter ("X"), she said doctors, imams, lawyers and business owners came to Parliament Hill to "tell us of growing Islamophobia and disappointment with Canada's actions on Palestine.""The community is not happy with us. That's fair. We need to listen. We need to learn. We need to be better," she said.In a media scrum in the House of Commons, Minister of Development Ahmed Hussen still praised UNRWA for providing "humanitarian aid" even though the government has paused funding to the organization.
A Liberal Member of Parliament says connections to Hamas are no reason to stop funding UNRWA.An Israeli official has claimed that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency is a "haven for Hamas' radical ideology" after an Israeli intelligence report estimated that around 10% of the agency's 12,000 staffers in Gaza have ties to Hamas and other Islamic terror groups. A dossier provided to the United States and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, estimates that about 1,200 UNRWA's employees in Gaza have links to Hamas or the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The intelligence suggests that about half of the agency's employees have family members who belong to these, both of which the US has recognized as foreign terror organizations since 1997. The evidence allegedly came from cell phone data, interrogations with Hamas fighters and documents discovered on the bodies of dead militants. The report follows a UN announcement that at least nine UNRWA employees were fired over allegations they participated in Hamas' October 7 massacre that killed over 1,200 people in southern Israel."UNRWA's problem is not just 'a few bad apples' involved in the October 7 massacre," a senior Israeli government official told WSJ. "The institution as a whole is a haven for Hamas' radical ideology."Although the Canadian government is redirecting $40 million of aid to Gaza funds that would have gone to UNRWA, an NDP and a Liberal MP are as supportive as ever.NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson took to Twitter ("X") to encourage people to donate their own money to UNRWA as she is."I have set up a reoccurring donation to @UNRWA," she wrote January 29."UNRWA provides lifesaving support to innocent Palestinian civilians. I believe in the work they do & I stand in solidarity with the 30,000 workers providing life-saving humanitarian aid."On January 30, Liberal MP Salma Zahid issued a statement to praise UNRWA as "the only major organization helping Palestinians on the ground today" and "the thread that desperate Gazans are holding on to."She said her support for UNRWA comes from personal experience."I have met UNRWA leaders. I have seen their dedication and the hard work they are doing firsthand in Jordan and in the West Bank. In Gaza, more than 150 UNRWA employees have lost their lives trying to help Gazans," she wrote.Zahid said she was "troubled by the accusations" against some "UNRWA local contractors" and that such "serious" allegations "must be taken seriously. She said if anyone is guilty they should face "criminal prosecutions" and be "held accountable for their actions.""However, it is unacceptable to tarnish the whole organization with the actions of a few. It is unacceptable to suspend humanitarian funding in the middle of a crisis to the only organization able to effectively deliver humanitarian support to those in need."One day prior, Zahid celebrated the National Action Day Against Islamaphobia. On Twitter ("X"), she said doctors, imams, lawyers and business owners came to Parliament Hill to "tell us of growing Islamophobia and disappointment with Canada's actions on Palestine.""The community is not happy with us. That's fair. We need to listen. We need to learn. We need to be better," she said.In a media scrum in the House of Commons, Minister of Development Ahmed Hussen still praised UNRWA for providing "humanitarian aid" even though the government has paused funding to the organization.
