UNRWA declined to remark, saying it had but to be served with the lawsuit. (File)
New York:
The United Nations Palestinian refugee company was sued on Monday by dozens of Israelis who accused it of aiding and abetting the Oct. 7 Hamas assault on Israel.
In a criticism filed with the U.S. District Court docket in Manhattan, the plaintiffs mentioned the United Nations Reduction and Works Company for Palestine Refugees within the Close to East (UNRWA) spent greater than a decade serving to Hamas construct what they referred to as the “terror infrastructure” and personnel wanted for the assault.
The plaintiffs are searching for unspecified damages for what they allege was UNRWA’s “aiding and abetting Hamas’ genocide, crimes in opposition to humanity, and torture,” which they mentioned violated worldwide legislation and the federal Torture Sufferer Safety Act.
UNRWA declined to remark, saying it had but to be served with the lawsuit.
The company has mentioned it takes accusations of employees misconduct significantly, and terminated 10 employees members accused by Israel of involvement within the assault. Two others died, it has mentioned.
UNRWA’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, and a number of other present and former company officers are additionally defendants.
The plaintiffs embrace 101 individuals who survived the assault or had relations who had been killed.
Whereas lots of their accusations have been made by Israel’s authorities, the plaintiffs need UNRWA held accountable for allegedly funneling greater than $1 billion from a Manhattan checking account to profit Hamas, together with for weapons, explosives and ammunition.
The plaintiffs accuse UNRWA of offering “secure harbor” to Hamas in its amenities, and letting its colleges use Hamas-approved textbooks to indoctrinate Palestinian kids to help violence towards and hatred of Jews and Israel.
Additionally they mentioned the assault was “foreseeable” to the defendants, no matter whether or not they knew the specifics.
“We’re speaking about individuals who have been killed, misplaced members of the family and misplaced houses,” Avery Samet, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, mentioned in an interview. “We anticipate damages will probably be substantial.”
WARNING FROM UNRWA CHIEF
The Oct. 7 assault by Hamas militants killed 1,200 individuals, whereas about 250 different individuals had been kidnapped, in response to Israeli tallies.
Greater than 37,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip, well being officers within the Hamas-ruled enclave have mentioned.
A number of nations together with the USA halted funding to UNRWA after Israel alleged that employees members had been concerned in Hamas’ assault.
In April, Norway referred to as on worldwide donors to renew funding UNRWA, after a UN-authorized unbiased assessment discovered that Israel had not supplied proof supporting its accusations that a whole lot of UNRWA employees had been members of terrorist teams.
On Monday, Lazzarini urged resistance to Israeli efforts to disband UNRWA.
“If we don’t push again, different U.N. entities and worldwide organizations will probably be subsequent, additional undermining our multilateral system,” Lazzarini mentioned at a gathering of the company’s advisory fee in Geneva.
Established in 1949 after the primary Arab-Israeli warfare, UNRWA offers education, healthcare and humanitarian help in Gaza, the West Financial institution, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. It’s funded nearly solely by U.N. member states.
The case is Property of Kedem et al v United Nations Reduction and Works Company et al, U.S. District Court docket, Southern District of New York, No. 24-04765.
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