BREAKING: For first time, UNRWA's former general counsel James Lindsay testifying before Congress, now exposing the agency's failure to vet staff for terrorist ties. I'm sitting right next to him—it's a damning indictment from the inside like never before.
UNRWA's former general counsel James Lindsay: “It would not be surprising to learn that as many as half of UNRWA’s employees were Hamas supporters—of whom some likely would be Hamas members—which is not that different from what the Israeli government alleged.” /2
UNRWA's former general counsel: “It is simply not true that UNRWA is ‘irreplaceable.’ /3
BREAKING: UN halves estimate of women and children killed in Gaza. As quoted in the article, let me explain how the UN's method for casualty counting in Gaza is the complete opposite of how they act in other conflict situations such as Ukraine. 🧵 nationalpost.com/news/world/isr…
“The UN significantly adjusted Gaza casualty figures, halving the number of women and children previously reported killed. While more than 9,500 women & 14,500 children fatalities were reported by @UNOCHA on May 6, the number was two days later revised significantly downward.” /2
@Mike_Wagenheim @JNS_org: The Director of UNICEF Catherine Russell indicated in mid-March, she was citing Hamas health ministry numbers, 13,000 children had died in Gaza. The UN released totals yesterday showing that less than 8,000 children have died in Gaza as a result of the war, citing the same Hamas health ministry. Can you clarify the process for how those numbers were revised?
@UN_Spokesperson Farhan Haq: “Yeah, the revisions are taken… you know, as we, of course, in the fog of war, it’s difficult to come up with numbers. We get numbers from different sources on the ground, and then we try to crosscheck them. As we crosscheck them, we update the numbers, and we’ll continue to do that as that progresses.
Q: I mean, it’s almost half. It’s pretty significant.
UN: “Numbers get adjusted many times over the course of a conflict. Once a conflict is done, we’ll have the most accurate figures. But we’re just going with what we can absolutely confirm, which will always be the low end of what the numbers are.”
Q: So can people consider those numbers reliable having been so off in this occasion?
UN: “Well, you can consider them reliable from the fact that we’re continually checking them. We’ll continue to do that over the course of the war. But the numbers, you know, ultimately have to be regularly checked so that we can be sure that what we’re putting out is valid.” /3
Meet Haythem “Ethan” Abid. He runs the International Red Cross in Montreal. His job is to be neutral. But Abid marches in “Free Palestine” rallies, posts Hamas videos saying hostages love their captors and accuses Israel of “terrorism” & “genocide.” He says: “Fuck neutral shit.”
2/ Here's the Hamas propaganda video posted by the Red Cross Head of Office:
We ask you, @ICRCPresident Mirjana Spoljaric: When will you fire him? Why were all your ICRC colleagues who saw this silent? Why is 🇺🇸@RedCross giving you $670 million per year? instagram.com/p/CzLWc4HMrcF/
@ICRCPresident @RedCross 3/ For more on Haythem “Ethan” Abid, see the full story by UN Watch here: unwatch.org/icrc-head-of-o…
The Swiss Parliament, before they decide whether or not to reinstate funding for UNRWA, has invited me to address their special hearing next week. I will testify as to the warnings we sent over a decade to UNRWA about its staff promotion of terrorism. They ignored every one. 🧵
2/ In September 2015 we warned UNRWA about 12 employees promoting terrorism & antisemitism, including UNRWA teacher Ramy Alshorbasy who promoted a blood libel, and staffer Wael Sallouh who cheered the June 2014 kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teens. unwatch.org/images-of-unrw…
3/ In October 2015, we warned UNRWA about 12 perpetrators including their teacher Hiba Miari who promoted Palestinian stabbing attacks against Israeli Jews & employee Hani Al Ramahi who showed the image of bloody knife with the caption “Stab Zionist dogs.” unwatch.org/report-un-offi…
On Saturday, the Independent Review into UNRWA's terror ties will release its report. Donors will then decide if to reinstate funding. Just one problem: the entire investigation is rigged. Let's do a deep dive into who the UN picked, and how they admit it's to “provide cover”: 🧵
2/ Let's start with the inquiry chair. UNRWA chief Lazzarini promised to name an “independent entity.” In the end, he chose recently retired French foreign minister Catherine Colonna—just weeks after Lazzarini had showered praise on her, and she on UNRWA.unwatch.org/unrwa-chief-to…
@MinColonna @UNLazzarini 3/ Note: when on January 13th Catherine Colonna pledged to UNRWA chief Lazzarini “full support for your work,” which she hailed as “more useful than ever,” this was already 3 days after the world learned that 3,000 UNRWA teachers belonged to a group praising the Hamas massacre.
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia, which tortures women’s rights activists, was unanimously elected chair of the U.N. Women Rights Commission.
They will preside over the March 2025 annual session attended by thousands.
We are now calling on all women's rights activists to announce they won't go.
2/ Despite some reforms, Saudi Arabia still has a horrific record on women's rights. On 16 November 2022, they arrested fitness instructor Manahel al-Otaibi for tweets supporting women’s rights and posting photos of herself without a black robe. She disappeared in November 2023.
3/ Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman touts his 2022 Personal Status Law as a major “leap” toward “women’s empowerment.” In fact, it codifies Saudi discrimination against women in almost every aspect of family life, retaining many harmful features of the male guardianship system.