At least one U.N. employee was reportedly arrested this week amid a growing scandal at a U.N. agency in Gaza in which a number of employees are being investigated for allegedly aiding Hamas.
Fox News reported Thursday that Palestinian official Hamdan Timraz, the acting head of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS), was arrested when crossing into Israel for what authorities called “security-related offenses.”
Fox also reported that while Timraz was released, his case is not the only one afflicting UNDSS, with others in the agency being investigated for “aiding and abetting Hamas in Gaza.”
Israel’s Ambassador Danny Danon called on the U.N. to put “an immediate end to this unacceptable situation.”
“We will not allow UN agencies to become branches of the Hamas terrorist organization,” he said in a statement, adding:
While UN workers should be focused on humanitarian assistance for the local residents, Hamas is attempting to cynically exploit these officials and turn them into accomplices to terror. Over the past year, we uncovered a number of incidents in which UN workers took advantage of their positions to assist terror organizations in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, told Fox News that while he was not aware of any new case, the U.N. knew of Timraz’s release and was “thankful he’s reunited with his family.”
He added:
It is important that when U.N staff are arrested or detained they are accorded their rights which include the U.N. being advised of their detention, access is provided to them, they are able to access legal representation and they are treated fairly and in line with privileges and immunities.
Both Israel and the U.S. have repeatedly criticized the U.N. in recent months for its anti-Israel bias, while it ignores atrocities by groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. In June, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley called on the U.N. Security Council to do more to stand up to the terrorist organization.
“This Security Council must stand up to condemn Hamas’ terror. Hamas represents yet another regional threat that this Council far too often ignores. While U.N. agencies and Member States dissect Israel’s actions, few speak out against the terror that Hamas continues to plot,” she said.
Adam Shaw is a Breitbart News politics reporter based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY.
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