An initiative to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization is being spearheaded by the Shurat HaDin Law Center, representing dozens of October 7 massacre victims.
Shurat HaDin's initiative is targeted toward the Defense Ministry. The organization argues that there is a solid legal basis for such a designation. Their opinion, comprised of arguments that extend over eight pages, was submitted to Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Should Gallant accept the proposal, he can exercise his authority to declare UNRWA a terrorist organization but would be subjected to Shin Bet security recommendation services.
The President of the Law Center, attorney Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, commented, “Now it is clear to everyone that UNRWA has opened its doors to Hamas terrorists in an unprecedented way. In the guise of a humanitarian organization that perpetuates a false and dangerous historic narrative, they have themselves become a central headquarters of a terrorist organization, some of whose employees murdered innocent Jews with their own hands.”
The current initiative comes in light of the IDF’s recent revelation of the Hamas command center in the Hamas tunnels below UNRWA’s headquarters, which operates on behalf of the UN in the Gaza Strip.
Darshan-Leitner continued, “UNRWA is no longer a humanitarian agency - its become a full-scale jihadi group. This provides all the grounds and legal evidence for the Defense Minister to declare them a terrorist organization. This designation is the necessity of the hour in order to prevent the next victims of terrorist violence and expedite the collapse of Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip.”
Shurat HaDin’s primary objective, according to its website, is to fight terrorism and safeguard Jewish rights worldwide. Based in Tel Aviv, the law center combats boycott, divestment, and sanction initiatives and challenges those who seek to delegitimize the Jewish State.
UNRWA was established in 1949 as the UN's body to aid Arabs displaced during Israel's War of Independence. It has since extended refugee status to the descendants of those displaced, allowing these families to claim refugee status for the past 75 years.
While initially serving around 750,000 refugees, the organization now supports nearly six million.
Shurat HaDin's past legal action
After October 7, the organization launched an initiative to establish a legal war room to coordinate legal efforts around the world, both in defense of Israel and to initiate legal actions against Hamas and its supporters.
In the past, the Law Center filed a formal complaint against the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor for biased and unethical conduct against the State of Israel. They also handle civil actions against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the PLO, the Palestinian Authority, and other non-state actors.
The revelation, under the direction of the Shin Bet, that IDF soldiers discovered a tunnel shaft near an UNRWA school sparked the latest lawsuit.
The shaft led to an underground tunnel that served as a significant base of Hamas’s military intelligence and passed under UNRWA’s central headquarters in the Gaza Strip. Many weapons were found inside the building’s offices, including guns, ammunition, grenades, and explosives.