The International Court of Justice in The Hague has now ruled on South Africa's case against Israel for genocide in Gaza, and although the tribunal has warned Israel not to harm the civilian population in Gaza, it has not called for a ceasefire, which is tantamount to telling the world that Israel's counterattack against Hamas is legitimate. However, no sooner had the international tribunal's ruling been concluded than two more pieces of news came in favor of Israel.
On January 26, US time, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, Philip Lazzarini, announced: "Israel has submitted to UNRWA evidence that several of its employees were involved in the terrorist attack on October 7 last year, and we have decided to immediately terminate relations with these employees, and any members involved in the terrorist attack will be held accountable, including criminal prosecution." A spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: "Secretary-General Guterres is shocked by this news and has ordered a swift and thorough investigation into the matter".
Subsequently, the White House also released a "Statement on the UNRWA Allegations" on its official website, which declared that the United States was deeply disturbed by the allegations that 12 UN staff members might be involved in the terrorist attack, and temporarily cut off financial support for UNRWA until the truth was ascertained. The European Union, another major financier of UNRWA, also spoke out, and European Commission Vice President Josep Borrell said that the EU was very concerned about the matter and would take further measures based on the results of the investigation.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established in 1949 to provide education, health and other humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, and has provided relief to at least 5.6 million people since its establishment. It employs nearly 30,000 people, most of whom are locally employed, and spent more than $800 million in 2020 alone. Naturally, the support of all parties is indispensable to sustain the functioning of such a large institution, with the United States, Germany, and the European Union being the three most important donors.
And in the United States, the 2024 presidential election, which is now under everyone's attention, has begun, and Alice Stefanik, a staunch ally of Trump and chairman of the Republican Conference of the US House of Representatives, immediately made a big fuss about this matter and took the opportunity to attack Biden. In a statement on her exclusive website, she said: "The involvement of UN employees in the terrorist attack on Israel is a completely unacceptable and shameful act". It should be noted here that in 2018, when Trump was in office, he cut off aid to the United Nations Relief Service in the Near East, but in 2021, when Biden took office, he reversed Trump's policy. "Biden's reversal of Trump's right decision to send U.S. taxpayers' money to Gaza to fund anti-Semitic education and fill Hamas's coffers is yet another devastating consequence of the Biden administration's incompetence," Alice said.