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<div class="gmail-inner-article-top"><h1 class="gmail-">UNRWA staffers tortured by Israeli troops to falsely admit 'Hamas links'</h1><p class="gmail-">Israel has sought for years to dismantle the UN agency to destroy Palestinian refugees' right of return</p><div class="gmail-another-name"><p><a href="https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9" style="color:rgb(164,4,4)">News Desk</a></p></div><div class="gmail-another-name" style="margin-top:16px"><p><span>MAR 9, 2024 - </span><font size="1"><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/unrwa-staffers-tortured-by-israeli-troops-to-falsely-admit-hamas-links">https://thecradle.co/articles/unrwa-staffers-tortured-by-israeli-troops-to-falsely-admit-hamas-links</a></font></p></div></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-img"><img src="http://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/6ef9fd36-ddf9-11ee-a68c-00163e02c055.jpeg" alt="" width="450" height="253" style="margin-right: 0px;"><span>(Photo credit: Reuters)</span></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-content"><div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-col-md-8 gmail-col-sm-7"><div class="gmail-article-content"><span><p><span style="color:rgb(14,16,26)">An
unpublished report from UNRWA said some of its employees released from
Israeli detention were tortured into falsely stating that the agency has
Hamas links and that staff took part in the 7 October attacks, <i>Reuters</i> </span><a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/unrwa-report-says-israel-coerced-some-agency-employees-falsely-admit-hamas-links-2024-03-08/"><span style="color:rgb(74,110,224)">reported</span></a><span style="color:rgb(14,16,26)"> on 9 March.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(14,16,26)">The testimonies are contained in a report by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reviewed by <i>Reuters </i>and dated February 2024.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(14,16,26)">"Agency
staff members have been subject to threats and coercion by the Israeli
authorities while in detention and pressured to make false statements
against the Agency, including that the Agency has affiliations with
Hamas and that UNRWA staff members took part in the 7 October 2023
atrocities," the report says.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(14,16,26)">The
report included allegations of abuse and torture in Israeli detention,
including severe physical beatings, waterboarding, and threats of harm
to family members.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(14,16,26)">Though waterboarding is widely viewed as torture by human rights groups, the <i>Reuters</i> report described Israeli actions only as "coercion" and "pressure" to force detained Palestinians to make false statements.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(14,16,26)">In
addition to describing the torture of UNRWA employees, the report
stated that Israel has subjected Palestinian detainees more broadly to
beatings, humiliation, threats, dog attacks, and sexual violence. Some
detainees have also died after Israel denied them medical treatment, the
report added.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(14,16,26)">UNRWA
communications director Juliette Touma said the agency planned to hand
the information in the 11-page, unpublished report to human rights
investigators at UN agencies and outside rights groups.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(14,16,26)">"When the war comes to an end there needs to be a series of inquiries to look into all violations of human rights," she said.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(14,16,26)">Amid the torture and medical neglect, 27 Palestinians have </span><a href="https://www.newarab.com/news/27-palestinians-died-israeli-jails-7-october"><span style="color:rgb(74,110,224)">died</span></a><span style="color:rgb(14,16,26)"> in Israeli prisons since the start of the war on 7 October.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(14,16,26)">Israel
has accused UNRWA employees of participation in the 7 October Hamas
attack on Israeli settlements and military bases. Israel provided no
evidence for the claim, but 16 countries, including the US, paused $450
million in UNRWA funding in response, throwing its aid operations into
crisis just as starvation was beginning to grip Gaza.</span></p><p><span style="color:rgb(14,16,26)">Israel's campaign against UNRWA is part of a broader </span><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles-id/23350"><span style="color:rgb(74,110,224)">campaign</span></a><span style="color:rgb(14,16,26)"> started
years ago to dismantle the agency, which helps keep the hope of
Palestinian refugees returning to their stolen lands and homes in what
is now Israel alive.</span></p></span></div></div></div></div>
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