TORONTO(August 25, 2017) – Following yesterday’s announcement that the Government ofCanada will continue to offer support of up to $25 million to the UnitedNations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees, FSWC cautionspolicy makers in Ottawa about the possibility of these funds being misused.

“TheUNRWA has long been suspected of having links to Hamas, a known terroristorganization,” said Avi Benlolo, FSWC President and CEO. “While we respect thatthe government is ensuring that there will be due diligence applied to funding,there is no guarantee the funds will not be used to support terrorism againstIsrael.”

In2010, UNRWA funding was cut off by the Harper government, which instead usedthe money to fund other Palestinian aid initiatives that were more legitimate.In November 2016, the Minister of International Development announced thefunding would be renewed to the tune of $25 million – support that wasreaffirmed yesterday.

Thisfunding calls for concern for numerous reasons, including the following:

1. UNRWA has beenaccused of having ties with the Hamas, an entity designated as a terroristorganization by Canada. It is surmised that international aid money also helpsdefray the cost of the Palestinian Authority's policy of paying for terrorism.For example, the PAspends about $346 million US to pay terrorists and their families formurdering Israelis. This figure amounts to 49.6% of all foreign aid slated tobe received by the PA in 2017. Canada should withhold funds until such paymentsare cancelled.
   
   
2. UNRWA funds support Hamas summer camps which teach children “how to fight, shoot lethal weapons, use hand grenades, and climb through various spaces in preparation for war” with Israel. According to reports, “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.”        
   
   
3. UNRWA employees have been accused of being members of Hamas. In February 2017, UNRWA’s school principal and chairman of the agency’s workers’ union, Suhail al-Hindi, was suspended following allegations that he was elected to Hamas’s leadership. The head of UNRWA denied the allegations – which were made by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Israeli Defense Ministry agency responsible for civilian affairs in the West Bank and Gaza. In March 2017, another UNRWA staffer, Muhammad al-Jamassi, was accused of being elected to Hamas’s political bureau.        
   
   
4. UNRWA workers discovered a Hamas-built tunnel underneath two UNRWA-funded schools in the Maghazi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip less than three months ago. Schools have also reportedly been used by Palestinian armed groups to hide weapons and fire rockets at Israel. Israel’s ambassador to the UN called on the Security Council to ensure “all UN-affiliated agencies, and especially UNRWA, remain neutral and safeguarded from abuse by terrorist organizations.”