Perhaps no Israeli lie, however, has been more damaging, more destructive, more deadly, than the claim that Unrwa – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the main organization responsible for providing aid in Gaza – has been colluding with Hamas and, worse, that 12 Unrwa employees participated in the terror attack on 7 October. Why? Because it was a lie so consequential that it helped lay the groundwork for a devastating, ongoing, man-made famine inside the Gaza Strip.
If we were talking about domestic politics then Mehdi would have no problem at all with the idea of regulatory capture. That those overseeing business or an industry become, against the very idea of their being there, on the side of the industry not the people against the industry. It’s the standard complaint about why these vast bureaucracies the left insist upon having don’t work out all that well – regulatory capture.
But when it’s someone he likes it’s all different of course.
Speaking of lies, Hassan admits towards the end of his article that the investigation into UNWRA involvement is ongoing.
UNWRA and other aid agencies in Gaza effectively support Hamas by allowing it to run the place on charity, thus freeing up cash to hoard rockets, dig tunnels and (in the case of the leadership) live in luxury.
a devastating, ongoing, man-made famine inside the Gaza Strip.
Last month’s controversial US aid package includes $9 billion earmarked for humanitarian aid in Gaza. That sort of money can feed a population for a long time as long as it’s properly administered and distributed.
When I read the rantings of someone like Hasan, who has constantly been linked with Islamic extremism to the extent I had long presumed he was working for Al Qaeda directly, what strikes me is how deep the institutional rot is in the country. It really is the equivalent of Goebbels subordinates in World War Two being given column space in the broadsheets.
I met Mehdi once. Didn’t like him.
There is no way any outside agency can work in Gaza without the permission and co-operation of Hamas. If you don’t go along, and support, you will be killed. Same applies to journalists and news agencies.
Exactly Rhoda.
However the one I’ve noticed is the ‘charities’ supporting the Houthis in Yemen. Perhaps this is because someone actually complained about the taxes they were levying on the aid.
It’s another Taqiyya sunrise.
Sane people believe that every activity of the UN is designed to damage mankind, especially the Western Civilisation version of mankind. Why would Gaza provide an exception?
They way the amount of aid vs distribution issues is skirted around by the media I suspect its the distribution which is the problem, but that’s much harder to blame the Israelis for so let’s not both doing some decent investigation and reporting
If you are a NGO or charity giving stuff to the folks in a place with problems you pretty much have to let the local strong man or terror group or gangster outfit distribute the aid for you. If you try to cut them out they will lose their power over the people. They won’t let that happen. This goes for all aid situations wherever they are.
The NGOs might not like that known to the charity givers but it is universally true. Biden’s aid to Gaza, although delivered by US armed forces, will be the same. Congress is putting billions into Hamas’s coffers.
” If you try to cut them out they will lose their power over the people. They won’t let that happen. This goes for all aid situations wherever they are.”
And that is why, in almost every case, aid is actually counterproductive in that prolongs the cause of problem whose symptoms they are trying to relieve