An "inner circle" at the top of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is being accused of abusing authority for their personal gain, a confidential report from the United Nations office of ethics that was leaked to the Qatari Al Jazeera network claims.
According to Al Jazeera, the 10-page report alleges that the UNRWA officials – whom it names at UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl; former Deputy Commissioner-General Sandra Mitchell and Chief of Staff Hakam Shahwan, both of whom left the agency this month; and Maria Mohammedi, senior advisor to Krahenbuhl – were guilty of "abuse of authority for personal gain, to suppress legitimate dissent and to otherwise achieve their personal objectives."
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The report claims that since 2015, the officials named have been "consolidating power," which it said has led to a decline in the management of UNRWA, which has been under intense financial pressure since the US slashed and then cut aid to the organization in response to the Palestinian Authority's refusal to stop paying stipends to imprisoned terrorists and families of terrorists.
According to the document, the officials used the financial crisis that resulted from the US aid cuts as an excuse to "concentrate decision-making power" and "disregard agency rules and … procedures."
The report said that the organizational and work culture at UNRWA had become dysfunctional and marked by a lack of accountability.
The UN report says that the officials' conduct put the reputation of the UN at risk and recommended that the UN consider removing them from their posts immediately.
According to Al Jazeera, the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services has launched a probe into the allegations outlined in the report.
Krahenbuhl denied the allegations in the report and told Al Jazeera that if and when the UN internal investigation determines that corrective steps must be taken, "We will not hesitate to take them."
Aside from whatever internal chaos or even corruption might be plaguing UNRWA, Israel has for years been critical of the organization for its tacit support of Palestinian terrorist groups, Hamas in particular.
In May, which saw an intense escalation of violence between Hamas in Gaza and Israel, which resulted in the deaths of five Israeli civilians, UNRWA Gaza Director Matthias Schmale tweeted that Israeli airstrikes against Hamas terrorist positions were hindering UNRWA-sponsored events to "celebrate children and their sports and fun activities."
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon, angry at Schmale's one-sided depiction of events, responded to Schmale on Twitter: "The terrorists shooting the rockets are all probably @UNRWA graduates. You must be really proud of them."
UNRWA's Director of Legal Affairs Rachel Evers sent a letter to Alon Bar, the deputy director general for the UN and International Organizations at the Foreign Ministry, demanding that Nahshon retract his tweet.
UNRWA-sponsored schools for Palestinian children have also come under criticism for using textbooks that blatantly incite against and demonize Israel.
