‘URGENT CLARIFICATION’ by the U.N.’s Palestinian Agency Leaves More Questions Than Answers

It’s been a few days since the U.N. agency that administers aid to Palestinians, including in the Gaza Strip, deleted a statement that accused Hamas of stealing fuel from one of its facilities in the Palestinian enclave. It still has not given a clear explanation of what happened.

On Tuesday, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency wrote on social media that it had “received reports that yesterday a group of people with trucks purporting to be from the Ministry of Health of the de facto authorities in Gaza, removed fuel and medical equipment from the Agency’s compound” in Gaza City. The agency’s posts added that UNRWA had evacuated the facility prior to the alleged theft and that security cameras covering it had been disabled by explosions. UNRWA said that “fuel & other types of material are kept for strictly humanitarian purposes — any other use is strongly condemned.”

The authorities in question, whom UNRWA condemned, of course, are the only authorities in Gaza: Hamas.

But within hours of leveling that accusation against the terrorist group, UNRWA had walked those comments, deleting the posts. Instead, it issued an “URGENT CLARIFICATION.”

“UNRWA would like to confirm that no looting has taken place in any of its warehouses in the Gaza strip,” the new statement said. “The images circulating on social media were of a movement of basic medical supplies from the UNRWA warehouse to health partners.”

Though that statement is presented as a clarification, it hasn’t clarified at thing. The initial posts did not reference “looting,” nor information that circulated online. The initial claims that had been walked back were about reports that UNRWA had received.

UNRWA has not exactly endeavored to explain itself further. Hours after this conspicuous walk back, UNRWA communications director Juliette Touma gave a press briefing to reporters. After CBS’s Pamela Falk asked her for details on what happened, Touma’s response echoed the clarification statement almost to the word. She did not provide any further information on why the initial post had been sent and retracted.

One theory makes particular sense. Hillel Neuer, the executive director of the watchdog group U.N. Watch described it in a social media post: “Why did UNRWA delete their tweet about Hamas’ theft of 24,000 liters of fuel? They remember well how in 2021 Hamas targeted the head of UNRWA Gaza with orchestrated protests and kicked him out of his position — because he unwittingly said on TV that Israel doesn’t target civilians.”

UNRWA is at the mercy of its Hamas hosts in Gaza and is therefore susceptible to pressure campaigns. Of course, it’s impossible to know unless UNRWA issues a clarification to its “URGENT CLARIFICATION.”

Securing a detailed account of what happened here, in addition to information on all of the agency’s interactions with Hamas, should be a precondition for continued U.S. funding for the organization. The Biden administration, though, has seen fit to continue to transfer money to the agency without any apparent preconditions — and in defiance of Congress. But if they so choose, lawmakers can have the final say through the appropriations process for the coming year.