We won’t let Hamas use UN funds for ‎terrorism, envoy pledges

U.N. Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov pledged over the ‎weekend to prevent Hamas, the terrorist ‎group that rules the Gaza Strip, from using United ‎Nations funds and facilities for terror purposes. ‎

Mladenov’s remarks followed an appeal by Public ‎Security Minister Gilad Erdan, which detailed how ‎Hamas “is educating and training children in Gaza to ‎carry out terrorist attack by turning terrorists ‎into role models.”

“Unfortunately, it seems that U.N. agencies ‎subscribe to Hamas’ narrative,” Erdan wrote in a letter to the ‎U.N. envoy. ‎

In the letter, the Israeli minister asked Mladenov ‎to denounce Hamas’ ‎‎”terrorism summer camps” in Gaza, saying that “it is ‎imperative that the United Nations ensure that ‎neither its funds nor its facilities are used to ‎trample on children’s rights in any way.”‎

‎”If the U.N. wants to protect the children in Gaza,” Erdan wrote, “‎it must first and foremost protect them from Hamas.”

The U.N. took nearly a month to respond to the ‎appeal.‎

‎”U.N. offices and organizations operating in the ‎Gaza Strip share your concern that children should ‎not be exposed to violence,” Mladenov ‎noted in his ‎reply.‎

‎”‎The U.N. takes precautions to ensure that no U.N. ‎infrastructure or funding is somehow linked to such ‎actions.” ‎ ‎

While the envoy reiterated the U.N.’s condemnation ‎of ‎”terrorism summer camps,” his reply did not ‎single out Hamas but rather simply noted ‎that “children belong to schools, in their homes and ‎on playgrounds and they should not be encouraged to ‎participate in violence of any kind.‎”

“The U.N. will not hesitate to demand that ‎children’s rights be respected by all Gaza ‎officials, including Hamas,” he wrote. ‎ ‎