{"id":2163344,"date":"2024-01-30T17:54:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-30T22:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/flashback-the-media-relied-on-un-agency-allegedly-filled-with-hamas-terrorists\/"},"modified":"2024-01-30T17:59:02","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T22:59:02","slug":"flashback-the-media-relied-on-un-agency-allegedly-filled-with-hamas-terrorists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/flashback-the-media-relied-on-un-agency-allegedly-filled-with-hamas-terrorists\/","title":{"rendered":"FLASHBACK: Media trusted UN agency reportedly filled with Hamas terrorists"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fflashback-the-media-relied-on-un-agency-allegedly-filled-with-hamas-terrorists%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2163344&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Mainstream news outlets rely on\u200c UNRWA officials in \u2063Gaza for\u2062 coverage\u200b of \u200dIsrael&#8217;s war against\u200d Hamas<\/h2>\n<p>It \u2063wouldn&#8217;t be the first time the media have treated thinly-veiled Hamas proxies\u200c as reliable\u2063 sources.<\/p>\n<p>The United States and other countries have suspended funding to UNRWA \u2064after allegations that a significant number \u2064of \u200cits staff\u200c members in Gaza are affiliated with Palestinian \u2064terror \u2063groups. The Israeli \u2064government\u200d claims \u200bthat\u200c at least 12 UNRWA workers participated in a massacre carried \u2062out\u200d by Hamas, which\u200d sparked\u200b the war.<\/p>\n<p>While an investigation is underway, the United Nations \u2062has criticized\u200d the defunding of \u200bUNRWA, emphasizing its \u200bimportance\u2064 in serving the community. However, Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy argues that other aid agencies could easily replace UNRWA.<\/p>\n<p>There have been numerous red\u2064 flags about UNRWA over the years, but news outlets have generally\u200d portrayed it \u200cas the voice \u200dof an \u2062oppressed people.<\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8216;We&#8217;re losing\u200b an inner sense of humanity&#8221;: UNRWA director who has family sheltering in Gaza. \u2064Watch here: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Rq6HmGcONc\">https:\/\/t.co\/Rq6HmGcONc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The\u200b ReidOut (@thereidout) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thereidout\/status\/1717365450722447373?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 26, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">UNRWA&#8217;s Juliette Touma:\u2062 &#8216;Gaza is being\u2063 pushed into\u200c the abyss&#8217;\u2063 during &#8216;exodus&#8217; from northern Gaza\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MSNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MSNBC<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JulietteTouma?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@JulietteTouma<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/t4mVI52Wcw\">https:\/\/t.co\/t4mVI52Wcw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u200d Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mitchellreports\/status\/1712953034106454442?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 13, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/live-blog\/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-idf-fired-gaza-aid-convoy-unrwa-rcna131564#:~:text=Israeli%20soldiers%20fired%20at%20aid%20convoy%2C%20UNRWA%20chief%20says\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC News<\/a>, Dec. 30: &#8220;Israeli Soldiers Fired\u2063 at Aid Convoy,\u2063 UNRWA Chief Says&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Our\u2062 international convoy leader and his team were not injured\u200d but\u2063 one vehicle sustained damage,&#8221; [UNRWA director Thomas White] said. &#8220;Aid workers should never be a target,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/12\/29\/world\/middleeast\/un-israel-gaza-aid.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Times<\/a><\/em>, Dec. 29: &#8220;UN Says Israeli Forces Fired on Aid Convoy \u2063in \u2063Central \u2063Gaza&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>No one in the convoy was injured, the officials said, but the episode highlighted the \u2063severe challenges\u2062 facing \u2062humanitarian efforts to \u200dhelp Palestinians struggling to survive amid Israel&#8217;s nearly 12-week bombardment \u200bof the enclave.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/unrwa-lazzarini-gaza-israel-hamas-war-95ce3c409bd8566ed26d60aa75223546\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Associated Press<\/a>, Dec. \u20626: &#8220;Senior UN Official\u2064 Denounces &#8216;Blatant Disregard&#8217; in Israel-Hamas War After Many UN Sites Are Hit&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;There is absolutely \u200cno\u200b safe place \u2063in the Gaza\u200d Strip,&#8221; Lazzarini said, speaking to \u2063the AP in Beirut.<\/p>\n<p>While the circumstances of\u200b those strikes are difficult to investigate amid the\u2062 ongoing conflict, he said,\u2064 &#8220;I do believe that the blatant disregard of U.N. premises &#8230; will require an independent investigation in the\u200d future.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/un-palestinian-agency-gaza-operations-being-deliberately-strangled-2023-11-16\/\">Reuters<\/a>, Nov. 16: &#8220;UN\u2062 Palestinian Agency Says Gaza Operations Being Deliberately Strangled&#8221;<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency said on Thursday \u2063he believed\u200b there was a\u2062 deliberate attempt to &#8220;strangle&#8221; its humanitarian work in Gaza, warning \u2063that \u200dthe\u2064 agency may have\u200b to entirely suspend its \u2063operations due to a\u2062 lack of fuel.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/videos\/tv\/2023\/11\/02\/amanpour-lazzarini-unrwa-gaza.cnn\">CNN<\/a>, Nov. 11: &#8220;&#8216;The Gaza Strip Is Being Strangled by the \u200bSiege&#8217;, Says UNRWA Chief&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n[Anchor Christiane Amanpour:]  I\u2064 mean, how do\u2063 you categorize this then? Is it accidental? Is it a war crime? Is it deliberately not distinguishing between civilians and Hamas fighters?<\/p>\n[Lazzarini:]  Listen, according\u2062 to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-biden-adviser-bragged-of-quiet-middle-east-one-week-before-hamas-attacked-israel\/\" title=\"Biden adviser boasted of calm Middle East before Hamas struck Israel.\">international humanitarian \u2063law<\/a>,\u200c there is a criteria of proportionality and also of distinction. When I was briefing this week the Security Council, I said, the number of people being killed\u2063 so far is so staggering \u200bthat this cannot be collateral anymore.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2023\/11\/11\/unrwa-gaza-humanitarian-aid-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Washington Post<\/a>,<\/em> Nov. \u206311: &#8220;GOP Targets Gaza&#8217;s Biggest Relief \u200dGroup, Clashing With the White House&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Top \u2064congressional\u200c Republicans are \u2063pushing to reject\u200c new funding \u2062for Gaza&#8217;s biggest humanitarian relief operation, citing\u200b its alleged\u2063 ties to Hamas even\u200c as the aid organization begs for help responding to the mounting\u2064 bloodshed in the\u200c Palestinian territory. &#8230;<\/p>\n<p>In a\u2063 statement, the White House said there are no\u2064 known instances \u200bof U.S. aid for UNRWA \u200bbeing diverted to Hamas or any other sanctioned \u200cgroup in Gaza or the West \u2064Bank in recent years.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>When President \u2064Donald Trump cut funding \u2063to UNRWA\u200d in 2018, the\u2063 coverage was filled with \u2064experts decrying the &#8220;capricious&#8221; and &#8220;heartless&#8221;\u2063 decision.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/08\/31\/us\/politics\/trump-unrwa-palestinians.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>New York Times<\/em><\/a>, Aug. 31, 2018: &#8220;US To End Funding to UN Agency That Helps Palestinian Refugees&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;What we&#8217;re seeing right now is a capricious move that\u200d has a very high\u200c risk of unsettling the region,&#8221; [former United States Agency for International Development official, R. David] Harden said, noting \u2062that\u2062 the relief agency supported about 5 \u2062million refugees across the\u2064 Middle East.<\/p>\n<p>Nicholas Burns, a Harvard Kennedy School professor and a former senior United States diplomat who\u2062 has worked on\u2064 the Palestinian issue, called the change &#8220;heartless\u200d and unwise&#8221; and a reflection of\u200b &#8220;the most one-sided U.S. policy since 1948,&#8221; when President Truman recognized the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/op-ed-wresting-land-rights-from-israel-using-a-historic-arab-village-that-never-existed\/\" title=\"Op-Ed: Challenging Israel's Land Rights via a Fictional Arab Village\">newly established state<\/a> of Israel.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Trump \u200cAdministration&#8217;s decision to end U.S. assistance to Palestinian refugees \u200bis \u200cwrong on every level,&#8221; Mr. Burns said on \u2062Twitter. &#8220;It will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mma-fighter-ro-malabanan-takes-down-man-allegedly-assaulting-people-in-nyc\/\" title=\"MMA Fighter Ro Malabanan Takes Down Man Allegedly Assaulting People In NYC\">harm innocent people<\/a>, particularly young Palestinians.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2018\/02\/11\/middleeast\/palestinian-high-school-lebanon-intl\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN<\/a>, Feb. 12, 2018: &#8220;A\u200c Palestinian\u2064 High School Threatened by Trump Funding Cuts&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s\u200d a violation of\u200c our human rights, which America\u2063 claims to teach us,&#8221; 11th \u200bgrader Sally Sabah \u200ctells CNN&#8217;s Ben Wedeman.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/parallels\/2018\/02\/08\/584077915\/half-a-million-children-are-at-risk-if-the-u-s-cuts-palestinian-aid-u-n-agency\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NPR<\/a>, Feb. 8, \u200b2018: &#8220;&#8216;Half a Million Children&#8217; Are at Risk if the US Cuts Palestinian Aid: UN Agency&#8221;:<\/p>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/01\/16\/us\/politics\/us-palestinian-aid-refugee-un.html\">New York Times<\/a><\/em>, Jan. 16, \u20642018: &#8220;US Withholds $65 Million From UN \u2062Relief Agency \u2062for Palestinians&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Tuesday&#8217;s announced\u200d cut \u2064alarmed United Nations officials and aid groups \u2063that regard the United Nations Relief and Works Agency as \u200ba critical \u200dpillar of well-being for Palestinian refugees in the\u2062 West\u2063 Bank and Gaza and in neighboring countries.<\/p>\n<p>The Norwegian Refugee Council, which \u2062works in more \u2064than 30 countries, urged the \u2063Trump administration to reconsider, saying that the funding reduction will\u200d have \u200b&#8221;devastating consequences for vulnerable Palestinian \u2062refugees across\u200b the Middle East.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>At \u200bthe United\u200d Nations, Secretary General \u200bAnt\u00f3nio Guterres \u200dsaid he was &#8220;very concerned&#8221; about any\u200c cuts to \u2062the agency.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It&#8217;s not just\u200c UNRWA. The media have a record of failing \u200dto recognize that \u2064their\u2063 favorite sources in Gaza are terrorists\u2062 or at least\u200d supporters of terrorism\u2014from the Hamas-controlled \u2064Gaza <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/media\/media-hamas-death-tolls\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Health Ministry<\/a> \u2064 to\u2064 the experts and reporters they \u2064employ in the territory.<\/p>\n<p>Former Associated Press correspondent Matti Friedman argued\u2063 in \u200ba 2014 essay \u200cfor <em>Tablet<\/em> that many journalists are willing hostages of \u200cthe terrorists.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The fact\u200b is\u200c that Hamas\u200d intimidation is largely beside the point because the actions of Palestinians\u2062 are beside the point: Most reporters \u200cin Gaza believe their job is to document\u2063 violence\u2064 directed by \u2062Israel\u200d at \u2062Palestinian civilians. That is the essence\u2064 of\u2064 the Israel story. In addition, reporters are under deadline and often at \u2062risk, and many don&#8217;t speak the language \u2064and have only the most tenuous grip on what is going on. \u2063They\u200b are dependent on Palestinian\u2064 colleagues and fixers who either fear Hamas, support Hamas, \u200dor both. Reporters \u2063don&#8217;t \u200dneed\u200c Hamas enforcers to shoo \u200dthem away from facts that muddy the \u200dsimple story they \u2062have been sent to\u200c tell.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What are the arguments for and against the defunding of UNRWA, and what impact could this have on the Palestinian refugee community?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Funding for Palestinian Refugees, Cuts Citing \u200d&#8217;Irredeemably Flawed&#8217; UN Agency&#8221;:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u2062&#8221;This UN \u200cagency [UNRWA] has an irredeemably flawed operation and is deeply \u200epolitically \u200ebiased,&#8221; State \u200eDepartment \u200espokeswoman Heather \u200dNauert \u200esaid\u200b \u200e\u200e[&#8230;]\u200e.\u200e \u200e\u200e&#8221;That neutrality is \u200eparamount.&#8221;\u200e<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Throughout these examples, it is evident that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">mainstream news outlets<\/a> often\u200c rely \u200bon UNRWA officials in Gaza\u2062 for coverage of Israel&#8217;s war \u2064against \u2062Hamas. However, these outlets fail to adequately address the controversies surrounding UNRWA\u2064 and the potential affiliations of its\u200d staff members with Palestinian\u200d terror groups.<\/p>\n<p>The suspension of funding to \u200bUNRWA by \u2064the United States and\u2064 other \u200ccountries underscores their concerns regarding the organization&#8217;s credibility and potential links to terrorism. The Israeli government has accused at least 12\u2064 UNRWA workers of participating in a massacre carried out by Hamas, further emphasizing the need for clarification and investigation \u200binto UNRWA&#8217;s operations.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these allegations and the ongoing investigation, \u2064the\u2064 United Nations has criticized the defunding of UNRWA, highlighting its importance in \u200bserving the community. However, Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy \u2063suggests that other\u200d aid agencies could easily\u2064 replace UNRWA, raising questions about the necessity of continued support \u2063for the organization.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years, there have been several red flags concerning UNRWA, but news outlets have generally portrayed it as the voice of \u200dan oppressed people. The reliance on UNRWA\u200b officials for coverage of the conflict perpetuates a \u200cone-sided narrative and fails to provide a comprehensive understanding of the situation.<\/p>\n<p>It is crucial for news outlets to exercise caution and impartiality when reporting on such complex \u2062and sensitive matters. By relying heavily\u200c on UNRWA officials without critically examining the controversies surrounding the organization, mainstream news outlets risk presenting a skewed perspective and undermining their credibility as \u200dreliable sources \u200bof \u2064information.<\/p>\n<p>A more balanced and thorough approach to reporting is\u200d necessary to ensure accurate and unbiased \u200ccoverage of Israel&#8217;s war against Hamas. This entails conducting independent investigations, considering multiple perspectives, and providing a \u2062platform for alternative voices that may challenge the narrative often portrayed by\u200c UNRWA officials.<\/p>\n<p>Only by engaging \u200din responsible, ethical journalism can news outlets truly fulfill their role as providers of accurate and objective information to the public.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mainstream news outlets depend on Gaza-based U.N. Palestinian refugee agency officials for crucial coverage of Israel&#8217;s conflict with Hamas. However, allegations of agency staff being linked to Gazan terrorists and their relatives may complicate matters. This wouldn&#8217;t be the first instance of the media considering thinly-disguised Hamas proxies as trustworthy sources<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":309,"featured_media":2163346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/rsz_gettyimages-1158653466.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2163344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/rsz_gettyimages-1158653466.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2163344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/309"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2163344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2163344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2163346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2163344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2163344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2163344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}