Israeli hostages, families sue UNRWA in U.S. court

Roughly 100 Israelis filed the lawsuit on Monday in a U.S. federal court in Manhattan alleging the UN aid group for Palestinians substantially aided the terrorist group Hamas. None of the plaintiffs are U.S. citizens, but they claim they are aliens seeking relief for wrongful acts committed in violation of the laws of the United States and other nations.

How can they sue in the state of New York? The plaintiffs argue that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, supported Hamas through many actions that occurred in Manhattan. As a result, they say the U.S. federal court for that area can hear the case. The plaintiffs also argue that UNRWA’s actions violated U.S. treaty agreements. The United Nations’ main headquarters is in Manhattan.

What does the lawsuit allege? The plaintiffs allege that UNRWA hired many workers who were members of Hamas. They also allege Hamas approved the textbooks, curricula, and teacher’s guides UNRWA used in its schools in Gaza. The plaintiffs also say the agency let Hamas members into those same schools to recruit children for its terrorist operations.

The plaintiffs also allege that UNRWA paid many of its workers in Gaza in U.S. dollars so that they would have to go to moneychangers to get their pay transferred into local currency. The terrorist organization Hamas runs the moneychangers in Gaza and reaps a profit on every currency exchange, the lawsuit claims.

What does the UN have to say about this? The UN says it does not aid Hamas and its members overwhelmingly adhere to agency policies that prevent them from being members of terrorist groups. The agency does acknowledge its workers have interacted with Hamas members, but only at an operational level and because they were the authorities in the Gaza Strip.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about how an independent investigation found issues with UNRWA’s neutrality between Israel and Hamas.