UN prolongs Israel-Gaza war by keeping Gazans penned in Gaza
The continuing failure of the United Nations and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to transfer Gaza’s women, children, the sick and the elderly to the safety of 50 of its refugee camps located outside Gaza guarantees an ongoing humanitarian disaster that could have been avoided.
The need for the UN and UNRWA to take such action was especially critical following all 193 member nations of the United Nations failing to accept any of the 1,476,706 refugees registered in the 8 UNRWA refugee camps located inside Gaza.
The result of the UN and UNRWA’s decision to keep Gazan residents penned inside Gaza has seen the Israel-Gaza war prolonged and accidental civilian casualties increased by:
- Slowing Israel running down those Gazan monsters responsible for the murder of 1200 people, rape, hostage-taking, and displacement of 150000 people on 7 October 2023 when Gaza invaded Israel
- Hampering Israel’s efforts to release the 240 hostages forcefully abducted in Israel and taken back to Gaza
- Allowing Gaza’s civilians to be used as human shields by the perpetrators of the 7 October 2023 atrocities hiding among Gaza’s civilians to escape being killed or captured – leading to many thousands being accidentally killed or wounded
- Preventing the speedy destruction of the extensive underground network of attack tunnels containing weapons manufacturing and storage facilities located under hospitals, mosques, schools, commercial and residential buildings
Unsuccessful attempts at the UN to call for a ceasefire – rather than demanding the unconditional surrender of these Gazan monsters – underscored the UN was more concerned with allowing them to survive to fight another day rather than see them and their infrastructure wiped out and destroyed.
Gazans had been leaving Gaza to begin a new life elsewhere before 7 October 2023:
- By September 2023 – they were the largest group of new asylum seekers on the Greek islands. They went via Turkey – who granted them entry visas as the first stepping stone.
- In the seven months preceding September 2023 there had been a significant increase in the number of young people emigrating from Gaza, mainly wanting to leave for European countries and Canada. There were thousands of Gazans in Turkey waiting to continue on to Greece (al-Ayam, September 1, 2023).
- On September 19, 2023, Palestinian TV broadcast a program called “Emigration from Gaza – what no one talks about.” In it, young Gazans talked about their desire to emigrate because of the economic situation and the high rate of unemployment, saying there was no future in Gaza. The broadcast claimed that in the past 15 years about a quarter of a million young Gazans had left for abroad (Palestinian TV channel, September 19, 2023).
How much greater will be the desire of Gazans to now vacate Gaza? Yet the UN and UNWRA are keeping them penned inside Gaza and seemingly doing nothing to assist their emigration through Turkey.
An Israeli document spelling out allegations against a dozen U.N. employees who took part in the invasion of Israel on 7 October 2023 — claimed seven stormed into Israel – including one who participated in a kidnapping and another who helped to steal a soldier’s body. These allegations prompted the United States and several other countries to freeze funds vital for UNRWA. The U.N. has fired nine of the accused workers – who include teachers and a social worker. Two are reportedly dead, and the last is still being identified.
The UN and UNRWA have become hopelessly conflicted in Gaza between saving the lives of Gaza’s monsters and preserving the lives of Gaza’s civilian population by moving them to safety outside Gaza.
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Author’s note: The cartoon — commissioned by the author — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators — whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades.
David Singer is a Sydney lawyer and a foundation member of the International Analysts Network
