The United Nations’ August 2024 investigation into 19 United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) staff members accused of taking part in the October 7 attacks on Israel contained “major deficiencies,” the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Inspector General (OIG) said in a report newly authorized for public release.
The UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) found that the evidence it received from Israel against nine of the UNRWA staff members was insufficient to substantiate the allegations against them, while in one case, it claimed that no evidence had been obtained. As a result, the UN body determined that there was sufficient evidence to substantiate allegations against only nine of the staffers.
After reviewing the full UN investigation, USAID OIG found “major deficiencies,” which it said validated the need for independent oversight.
OIOS, for example, claimed that it had been “unable to independently authenticate” evidence presented to it by Jerusalem.
However, USAID OIG noted that the physical evidence provided should have been considered “collected enemy materials,” as it had been obtained by Hamas, and that it was therefore “unreasonable” to expect anyone to independently authenticate the materials. Additionally, USAID OIG noted that OIOS had no reason to suspect that the materials provided were not genuine.
USAID OIG says there is no reason to doubt authenticity of evidence
Though OIOS complained that it had only been provided copies of the evidence because the originals remained in Israel’s custody, USAID OIG again stressed that there was no reason to doubt their authenticity.
Additionally, the report detailed the limited scope of OIOS’s investigation, which was restricted to “claims of the possible involvement of the... UNRWA staff members in the armed attacks of 7 October 2023 in southern Israel,” and did not examine whether current or former staff members were members of Hamas.
This came despite an UNRWA directive forbidding staff from “participating in the activities of or being a member of any militant or armed group or entity,” which could have allowed investigators to expand the scope of their inquiry.
Another key failure by OIOS, identified by USAID OIG, was describing the methodology behind its review of “information and communications technology” data.
OIOS concluded, without what USAID OIG deemed proper substantiation, that there was “no significant activity or items of interest in the various email archives” of the accused.
OIOS was also said to have failed to indicate in its report whether it had conducted any review of information available outside the email archives or of the material provided by the State of Israel.
UNRWA employees terminated in January 2024 – after Israel provided UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini with a list of employees suspected of being involved in the invasion – may go on to work for other organizations, some of which receive US taxpayer funding, the office warned, due to the way their terminations were characterized.
UNRWA terminated the 12 staffers’ employment “to protect the agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance,” which, USAID OIG said, meant the chance of them joining other aid groups was “very high.” Therefore, the office explained, Operation Stop the Carousel was launched to stop the circulation of terrorists in humanitarian circles.
USAID OIG refers over a dozen people to State Dep't for debarment
As a result of its own independent investigation into UNRWA, the USAID OIG referred 17 of the 19 individuals from the OIOS report to the State Department for debarment.
USAID OIG accused OIOS of initially withholding the unredacted version of its investigation, leaving the oversight body able to review only a redacted version that it considered “useless” for its investigation. The oversight body was therefore forced to rely on independent information until it finally obtained a copy of the unredacted investigation.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and sent to The Jerusalem Post by Grassley’s office, expressed concerns on August 27 about the UN’s unwillingness to cooperate with the USAID OIG’s investigation, “as well as vetting failures by the UN to ensure taxpayer dollars do not fall into the hands of Hamas or other terrorist organizations.”
The exemption from vetting processes granted to UN staff, unlike NGOs and contractors, has meant that the US and other partners have relied on the UN to conduct its own vetting, thus creating vulnerabilities, he added.
Based on those concerns, Grassley asked Rubio to confirm how the State Department has vetted UN employees funded by American taxpayers; the status of disbarment investigations launched against over 100 UNRWA employees alleged to be members of Hamas, an affiliated group, or to have participated in the October 7 massacre; how many UNRWA employees have so far been confirmed as members of Hamas or an affiliated group; and whether the US will deny funding to UN organizations that fail to properly vet their staff.
Grassley also sent a second letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which was also received by the Post, seeking an explanation as to why the scope of the OIOS investigation did not include identifying current and former Hamas members within its ranks.
He also asked whether the UN and its agencies would commit to cooperating with USAID OIG investigations and what steps the UN has taken to ensure that American funds are not directed to Hamas or affiliated groups, as well as requesting all relevant information concerning employees accused of being members of terrorist groups.
OIOS declined to respond to the Post’s request for comment, instead referring the paper to Jonathan Fowler, UNRWA’s senior communications manager, who has not yet responded.