United Nations Exposed – Money Funneling Operation Targeted Vulnerable

UN Watch claims that the claims—also made by angry staff members in a chat forum about UNRWA—highlight alarming institutional corruption inside the agency.

“The chatroom is run by Haitham al-Sayyed, a former UNRWA employee who was fired from the organization in 2016 after he publicly criticized it for concealing a UNRWA school map that denied Israel’s existence and covering it with a white cloth to keep it out of sight from cameras during UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s June 2016 press conference. Over the course of his 17 years at UNRWA, al-Sayyed set up a number of chat rooms where educators and staff could exchange postings, many of which contained incitements to hatred, Jihadi terrorism, and antisemitism. Even now, al-Sayyed is still running these chat groups and sharing news on UNRWA salaries and other employee-related information. The chat forums are still thriving with messages from hundreds of workers who were just applauding Iran’s attack on Israel, despite recent criticism of UNRWA’s promotion of terrorism and pledges of reform.”

Numerous entries in the chat group disclose senior UNRWA employees’ involvement in assistance theft. They draw attention to how little the company is doing to put an end to these violations. “A UNRWA employee expressed complete dissatisfaction with the school administration’s honesty in distributing help due to the thefts, expressing anger with the current state of affairs.” “The displaced persons in the external shelter do not obtain their entitlement to food and non-food aid.”

The user went on to say that some of the displaced people were not given their right to the 150 bags that were distributed at night, and that everyone who speaks has been transferred. The aid is “distributed at night and sold in front of our eyes, for example with baby pampers,” the user said.

Senior authorities’ involvement in the thefts has left employees and Palestinian residents feeling outraged and powerless. Another user provided an example of the theft of money from humanitarian help.

“Now, the head of a school warehouse arrived with fifty food cartons that had been distributed in UNRWA schools and were sold to a business for 350 shekels, or $100, per container.” How did he manage to remove so many cartons? Regarding this, where is the administration?

The aforementioned allegations highlight a concerning pattern of pervasive corruption inside the UNRWA, which is worsening the situation for Gaza’s citizens amidst the continuous armed conflicts in the area. Earlier this year, we discovered that the organization hired Hamas participants in the October 7 attacks that initiated the conflict.

In spite of his calls for additional financial aid for Gaza, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has recognized that “there is more food available…it still does not imply that the food is accessible.”

According to reports from the chat group, the agency’s chronic corruption prevents Palestinian citizens from receiving help. One user stated, “Eighty percent of the staff members at the shelters that I passed by have no morals or decency and are solely concerned with themselves and their loved ones.”