Over the past several weeks, ​We have been following several stories regarding incitement in UNRWA’s school curriculum and UNRWA’s connection to Hamas. One of the few constants ​we run into that ​The ​Israel Civil Administration ​, also known as ​COGAT (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories)​ seemed to always side with UNRWA or defend it​, and ​ went out of its way to defend UNRWA in an article on its site as soon as UNRWA declared that it would change its curriculum to one that teaches peace and tolerance.

Despite the fact that UNRWA has in the past lied about potential changes to its curriculum, ​when, for example, UNRWA officials raised funds for a holocaust curriculum, ​COGAT couldn’t be bothered to do its due diligence and investigate the rumors, and instead took UNRWA’s word for it.

Amazingly, nearly a month after the article was put out and ​three ays after UNRWA posted an article on their website saying these changes aren’t going to take place, COGAT’s article praising UNRWA can still be found on its homepage.

According to intelligence sources, roughly 80% of materials being transferred into the Gaza strip have reached Hamas.

The fact that Hamas is in complete control of UNRWA’s workers union and that UNRWA controls the supply line coming into Gaza are undoubtedly linked. Yet in a conversation with an official from the civil administration,

​my colleague was scolded for insinuating that UNRWA and Hamas are linked to that extent, despite COGAT acknowledging the fact that a senior Hamas ​leader – Suhail al-Hindi – is the Chairman of the Association of Palestinian Workers of UNRWA in Gaza. During that same conversation,​my was also ​assured by COGAT that UNRWA would be changing their curriculum.

It would seem almost impossible that COGAT would be unaware of diversion of materials at such a scale to Hamas.

However, that would mean that they are complicit to the passing of said materials to a terror organization. Some former COGAT officials have even attempted to exploit the situation by selling cement to the Gaza strip.

​Meanwhile, COGAT has prevailed upon the US and Canada to continue aid to UNRWA as a matter of business as usual.

And COGAT shows parades its business assistance to the Gaza regime – now in a in a suspended state of war with Israel – as if this a formula for some kind of “economic peace”, instead of what it really is – aid to an enemy during a time of war.

The post Why is ​”​COGAT​”​going to bat for UNRWA? appeared first on Israel Behind the News.

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David Bedein

David Bedein is an MSW community organizer and an investigative journalist.   In 1987, Bedein established the Israel Resource News Agency at Beit Agron to accompany foreign journalists in their coverage of Israel, to balance the media lobbies established by the PLO and their allies.   Mr. Bedein has reported for news outlets such as CNN Radio, Makor Rishon, Philadelphia Inquirer, Los Angeles Times, BBC and The Jerusalem Post, For four years, Mr. Bedein acted as the Middle East correspondent for The Philadelphia Bulletin, writing 1,062 articles until the newspaper ceased operation in 2010. Bedein has covered breaking Middle East negotiations in Oslo, Ottawa, Shepherdstown, The Wye Plantation, Annapolis, Geneva, Nicosia, Washington, D.C., London, Bonn, and Vienna. Bedein has overseen investigative studies of the Palestinian Authority, the Expulsion Process from Gush Katif and Samaria, The Peres Center for Peace, Peace Now, The International Center for Economic Cooperation of Yossi Beilin, the ISM, Adalah, and the New Israel Fund.   Since 2005, Bedein has also served as Director of the Center for Near East Policy Research.   A focus of the center’s investigations is The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). In that context, Bedein authored Roadblock to Peace: How the UN Perpetuates the Arab-Israeli Conflict – UNRWA Policies Reconsidered, which caps Bedein’s 28 years of investigations of UNRWA. The Center for Near East Policy Research has been instrumental in reaching elected officials, decision makers and journalists, commissioning studies, reports, news stories and films. In 2009, the center began decided to produce short movies, in addition to monographs, to film every aspect of UNRWA education in a clear and cogent fashion.   The center has so far produced seven short documentary pieces n UNRWA which have received international acclaim and recognition, showing how which UNRWA promotes anti-Semitism and incitement to violence in their education’   In sum, Bedein has pioneered The UNRWA Reform Initiative, a strategy which calls for donor nations to insist on reasonable reforms of UNRWA. Bedein and his team of experts provide timely briefings to members to legislative bodies world wide, bringing the results of his investigations to donor nations, while demanding reforms based on transparency, refugee resettlement and the demand that terrorists be removed from the UNRWA schools and UNRWA payroll.   Bedein’s work can be found at:www.IsraelBehindTheNews.com and www.cfnepr.com. A new site,unrwa-monitor.com, will be launched very soon.

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