Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) briefs reporters at the UN Headquarters in New York City, US, on Sept. 21, 2023. Photo: John Lamparski/NurPhoto via Reuters Connect

How do children react when they are caught red-handed? They blame someone else and cry.

That’s exactly what the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) did on Thursday (May 30), in an op-ed published by The New York Times.

In the article, titled “Israel Must Stop Its Campaign Against UNRWA,” Philippe Lazzarini complains that his organization is under attack by the Jewish State, which has accused it of having links to Gaza terror groups.

The gist of his over-simplistic argument, that omits Hamas as the real target of Israel’s war effort, is as follows: UNRWA is attacked by vicious Israelis for no reason, and the world must do something about it.

In his own dramatic words, it sounds like Israel’s war aim is to target and harass innocent UNRWA employees and not Hamas terrorists:

• “As I write this, our agency has verified that at least 192 UNRWA employees have been killed in Gaza. More than 170 UNRWA premises have been damaged or destroyed. UNRWA-run schools have been demolished.”

• “Israeli officials are not only threatening the work of our staff and mission, they are also delegitimizing UNRWA by effectively characterizing it as a terrorist organization.”

• “How can this be possible? Where is the international outrage? Its absence is a license to disregard the United Nations and opens the door to impunity and chaos.”

• “While Israel has long been hostile to UNRWA, following the abhorrent attacks of Oct. 7 it unleashed a campaign to equate UNRWA with Hamas and depict the agency as promoting extremism.”

All of the above allows Lazzarini to deflect criticism and avoid holding himself and his organization accountable in the face of Israeli allegations.

While he refers to the dozen UNRWA employees who have been accused by Israel of participating in the October 7 massacre, he treads lightly: He says that UNRWA investigates Israel’s allegations but at the same time creates the impression of a false dichotomy between the organization and its employees.

In fact, he ignores evidence suggesting that UNRWA has become a Hamas front:

• Israel has said that 190 UNRWA employees, including teachers, have doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad terrorists.
• Israel uncovered a Hamas facility under UNRWA headquarters in Gaza.
• The IDF regularly releases data showing that Hamas terrorists use UNRWA schools in Gaza.
• UN Watch exposed that 3,000 UNRWA teachers were in a Telegram group that celebrated the October 7 attack.

Why does Lazzarini not address these allegations head-on in an apologetic op-ed?

Interestingly, in his frenzy to attack Israel, he seems to admit that Hamas uses UNRWA facilities in Gaza.

This point was ironically reinforced on the same day of Lazzarini’s article’s publication, when the IDF revealed that Hamas had fired an anti-tank missile at its troops from an UNRWA school in Gaza.

But Lazzarini seems to be unaware of his own responsibility for the utter moral bankruptcy of his organization.

He cannot even bring himself to mention Hamas’ October 7 atrocities, which he refers to only in the 9th paragraph as “an abhorrent attack.”

Like the child caught red-handed, he accuses the neighborhood “bully” and expects an adult — or in this case “the world” — to help (and perhaps renew the flow of pocket money that has been suspended.)

Perhaps he thinks he can get away with it, because UNRWA has always been seen as a favorite child, who is nothing but virtuous.

But the world needs grown-ups who clean up their own mess, instead of blaming others for exposing it.

The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.