The association \u201cFocus on Israel and the Middle East\u201d<\/a> organized the screening in collaboration with the parliamentary friendship group. Several members of parliament, a representative from the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Israeli ambassador accepted the invitation. However, not a single representative from the SP or the Greens found the time to learn about the activities of this so-called aid organization\u2014even though it is the Left and the Greens who are vehement advocates for UNRWA and should therefore have a particularly strong interest in the issue. <\/p>\n\nQuote from EDU National Council member Erich Vontobel:<\/strong> \u201cIt has long since ceased to be a neutral relief agency\u2014UNRWA is part of a system that keeps the conflict alive. Switzerland should consistently redirect its contributions to alternative aid organizations. Aid, yes\u2014but not through UNRWA. The film should be broadcast by SRF: It shows a side of UNRWA that is rarely covered by major media outlets. Western countries have provided UNRWA with billions over the decades\u2014which makes it all the more important to critically examine the extent to which these funds ultimately benefited Hamas and its terrorist apparatus.\u201d<\/p>\n\nHere<\/strong> is what the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) says:<\/strong> \u201cGiven the continuing difficult situation and the lack of a political solution that would allow for the transfer of UNRWA\u2019s responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, UNRWA continues to provide urgently needed support by delivering humanitarian aid and quasi-governmental services.\u201d<\/p>\n\nThe FDFA does not wish to comment on the documentary\u2014as a matter of principle, it does not comment on individual documentaries. However, the FDFA takes seriously the allegations that \u201csome\u201d UNRWA employees are \u201csuspected\u201d of having been involved in the terrorist attacks of October 7. The International Court of Justice has, however, determined that there is \u201cno evidence\u201d to suggest that UNRWA is not carrying out its mandate \u201cin an impartial and neutral manner.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Here\u2019s what UN Watch says:<\/strong> The nongovernmental organization has been monitoring United Nations decisions and activities since 1993. In an interview, Daniel Radomski explains that Switzerland should stop supporting UNRWA: \u201cFor a long time, the public was fobbed off with the excuse that the ties to Hamas were isolated cases\u2014but it is now clear that this is not true.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n“UNRWA was unable to prevent Hamas from infiltrating an institution entrusted with the education of hundreds of thousands of children.” <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nDaniel Radomski of \u201cUN Watch\u201d in an interview with \u201cNebelspalter\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Radomski is convinced: \u201cIt is right to continue supporting the Palestinian civilian population, but this should be done through organizations that are not compromised and whose primary role is not to perpetuate the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
The claim that there is no alternative to UNRWA is \u201csimply false,\u201d says Radomski: \u201cSweden concluded that supporting the Palestinians does not require core funding for UNRWA. Since then, Stockholm has increased its humanitarian aid in the region\u2014but supports only organizations such as UNICEF, the World Food Program, or the International Red Cross.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Here’s what SRF says:<\/strong> The public broadcaster has not aired any specific film on this topic since October 7: \u201cThe film \u2018UNraveling UNRWA\u2019 was not offered to SRF. There are currently no plans to air it,\u201d explains the SRF press office.<\/p>\n\n“However, SRF’s editorial teams continuously report on the Middle East conflict in their news coverage, including UNRWA’s role, related allegations, and international investigations and reactions,” the media office writes in response to an inquiry.<\/p>\n\n
This article first appeared in Nebelspalter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Kaspar Schwarzenbach The Facts: During the third week of the session at the Federal Palace, the Switzerland-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group screened the documentary\u201cUNraveling UNRWA\u201d: The Israeli-German production shows in detail how, in the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, UNRWA keeps the idea of the \u201cright of return\u201d alive in the minds of Palestinians and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9795,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_socialbar":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[823],"tags":[2116,642,643,654,2975,1617,4184,2489,661],"class_list":["post-9800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","tag-erich-vontobel","tag-gaza-en","tag-hamas-en","tag-israel-en","tag-srf","tag-un-watch","tag-unicef","tag-unraveling-unrwa","tag-unrwa-en"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t