In an official document submitted to the US court, the UN, backed by the US Department of Justice, claims that UNRWA employees who participated in the October 7th massacre be granted immunity from prosecution.
A full 10% of UNRWA employees are affiliated with a terror group, and at least 12 UNRWA employees participated directly in the October 7 massacre: Six were part of the wave of terrorists who breached the border fence and participated in the assault, two helped kidnap Israelis, two were tracked to sites where scores of Israelis were massacred, and other coordinated logistics for the attack – including the procurement of weapons.
In the document submitted to a US court, it is claimed that the UNRWA employees who participated in the massacre have immunity: “Since the UN has not waived their immunity in this case, its subsidiary organization, UNRWA, continues to enjoy absolute immunity from prosecution, and the lawsuit should be dismissed,” reads UNRWA’s response document.
The US Department of Justice added: ”The plaintiffs’ complaint does not present a theory under which the United Nations waived its immunity. Therefore, since the UN has not waived their immunity in this case, its subsidiary organization, UNRWA, continues to enjoy absolute immunity from prosecution, and the lawsuit against the defendant UNRWA should be dismissed due to the lack of subject matter.”
Israel has for some time pursued action against the UNRWA both domestically and abroad, including court cases and promoting legislation to have the organization dissolved. Along with state actions, groups of Israelis have been lobbying against the UNRWA privately. Since the massacre, the IDF has killed UNRWA workers in its anti-terrorist operations, stressing that they were either involved in the massacre or were aiding Hamas in the fighting in Gaza.