Editing UNRWA (section)

===Operations===

====Protection of Palestinian refugees====

Asem Khalil, Associate Professor of Law at [[Birzeit University]] and dean of the Faculty of Law and Public Administration, has focused on human rights issues for Palestinians in host countries.<ref>{{cite web|title=Palestinian Refugees in Arab States: A Rights-Based Approach." Asem Khalil|work=European University Institute, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, CARIM Research Reports 2009/08|access-date=2014-08-29|url=http://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/10792|archive-date=8 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208140227/http://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/10792|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=Socioeconomic Rights of Refugees: The Case of Palestinian Refugees in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria." Asem Khalil|publisher=American University in Cairo, Center for Migration and Refugees Studies Regional Research|year=2010|access-date=2014-08-29|url=http://www.aucegypt.edu/gapp/cmrs/reports/documents/khalil.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923180310/http://www.aucegypt.edu/gapp/cmrs/reports/documents/khalil.pdf|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> After systematically documenting the human rights situation for Palestinians in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, he concludes:<ref name="auto" />

<blockquote>The point this approach is stresses, I believe, is not that UNRWA is not necessary or that Palestinian refugeehood is not unique and special, but rather that UNRWA is not currently capable of ensuring necessary protection for Palestinian refugees, and that host [[Arab world|Arab states]] cannot use the uniqueness of Palestinian refugeehood to continue upholding discriminatory laws and policies towards Palestinian refugees. ...

The global financial crisis may result in decreasing international funds to UNRWA, and UNRWA may be pushed towards reducing its services. Such a scenario will be felt by Palestinian refugees in particular ways, seeing the absence of alternative sources of income and the restrictive laws and policies that exist in some host countries. UNRWA is a main service provider for Palestinian refugees in host countries. It provides jobs for thousands of refugees, education, health care, and various other services that are extremely valuable and necessary.

... The issue at stake here is that UNRWA is not enough, but the alternative is not the replacement of UNRWA by
[[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]], rather the enhancement of the protection role of UNRWA, or the extension of protection mandate of UNHCR
to Palestinian refugees besides (not instead) existing agencies dealing with Palestinian refugees ...
</blockquote>

====Textbook controversy====
{{Main|Textbooks in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict}}
In 2005 Nathan Brown, Professor of Political Science at [[George Washington University]], wrote a short but comprehensive review article about textbooks used by Palestinians, focusing especially on changes starting in 1994.
<blockquote>The [[Oslo Accords|Oslo agreements]] resulted in the dismantling of the Israeli office responsible for censorship of textbooks. Administration of the education system for all Palestinian students in the West Bank and Gaza was taken over by the Palestinian Authority. Other Palestinian schools administered by UNRWA in neighboring countries were unaffected. With the end of UNESCO monitoring of the books, UNRWA moved to develop supplementary materials to teach tolerance in the schools it administered.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brown|first=Nathan J.|title=Textbooks, use by Palestinians. In Mattar, Phillip, ed. Encyclopedia of the Palestinians, Revised Edition. New York: Facts on File, Inc.|year=2005|url=http://www.fofweb.com/History/MainPrintPage.asp?iPin=EPAL316&DataType=WorldHistory&WinType=Free|access-date=30 August 2014|archive-date=3 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903150033/http://www.fofweb.com/History/MainPrintPage.asp?iPin=EPAL316&DataType=WorldHistory&WinType=Free|url-status=live}}</ref>
</blockquote>

It is the PA textbooks used in UNRWA schools in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem that have been most extensively studied. The following discussions cannot be generalized to UNRWA schools elsewhere. In the beginning, the PA used books from Jordan and Egypt. In 2000 it started issuing its own books. Brown has pointed out that research into Palestinian textbooks conducted by the [[Centre for Monitoring the Impact of Peace]] in 1998 is misleading because it evaluates the old books; and in 2000, its research mixed old and new books.<ref name="pcdc.edu.ps" /> Brown investigated the differences between the new PA books and the ones being replaced.<ref name="pcdc.edu.ps">[http://www.pcdc.edu.ps/brown_research_summary.htm Getting Beyond the Rhetoric about the Palestinian Curriculum Summary of Research on Palestinian Textbooks] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415032604/http://www.pcdc.edu.ps/brown_research_summary.htm |date=15 April 2012 }}. By Nathan J. Brown, 1 January 2002.</ref>

Regarding the Palestinian Authority's new textbooks, he states:

<blockquote>The new books have removed the anti-Semitism present in the older books while they tell history from a Palestinian point of view, they do not seek to erase Israel, delegitimize, it or replace it with the "[[State of Palestine]]"; each book contains a foreword describing the West Bank and Gaza as "the two parts of the homeland"; the maps show some awkwardness but do sometimes indicate the [[Green Line (Israel)|1967 line]] and take some other measures to avoid indicating borders; in this respect they are actually more forthcoming than Israeli maps; the books avoid treating Israel at length but do indeed mention it by name; the new books must be seen as a tremendous improvement from a Jewish, Israeli, and humanitarian view; they do not compare unfavorably to the material my son was given as a fourth-grade student in a school in Tel Aviv".</blockquote>

In 2002, the [[United States Congress]] requested the [[United States Department of State]] to commission a reputable NGO to conduct a review of the new Palestinian curriculum. The [[Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information]] (IPCRI) was thereby commissioned by the US Embassy in [[Tel Aviv]] and the US Consul General in [[Jerusalem]] to review the textbooks. Its report was completed in March 2003 and delivered to the State Department for submission to Congress. Its executive summary states: "The overall orientation of the curriculum is [[peace education|peaceful]] despite the harsh and violent realities on the ground. It does not openly incite against Israel and the Jews. It does not openly incite hatred and violence. Religious and political tolerance is emphasized in a good number of textbooks and in multiple contexts."

IPCRI's June 2004 follow-up report notes that "except for calls for resisting occupation and oppression, no signs were detected of outright promotion of hatred towards Israel, Judaism, or Zionism" and that "tolerance, as a concept, runs across the new textbooks". The report also stated that "textbooks revealed numerous instances that introduce and promote the universal and religious values and concepts of respect of other cultures, religions, and ethnic groups, peace, human rights, freedom of speech, justice, compassion, diversity, plurality, tolerance, respect of law, and environmental awareness".

However, the IPCRI noted a number of deficiencies in the curriculum.

<blockquote>The practice of 'appropriating' sites, areas, localities, geographic regions, etc. inside the territory of the [[State of Israel]] as Palestine/Palestinian observed in our previous review, remains a feature of the newly published textbooks (4th and 9th Grade) laying substantive grounds to the contention that the Palestinian Authority did not in fact recognize Israel as the State of the Jewish people. ...</blockquote>

The summary also states that the curriculum asserts a historical Arab presence in the region, while:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ipcri.org/files/4&9report.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051016221049/http://www.ipcri.org/files/4%269report.pdf|url-status=usurped|title=Analysis and Evaluation of the New Palestinian Curriculum; Reviewing Palestinian Textbooks and Tolerance Education Program Grades 4 & 9|archive-date=16 October 2005}}</ref>
<blockquote>The Jewish connection to the region, in general, and the [[Holy Land]], in particular, is virtually missing. This lack of reference is perceived as tantamount to a denial of such a connection, although no direct evidence is found for such a denial." It also notes that "terms and passages used to describe some historical events are sometimes offensive in nature and could be construed as reflecting hatred of and discrimination against Jews and Judaism."
</blockquote>

The US State Department has similarly raised concerns about the content of [[Textbooks in the Palestinian territories#2009 US State Department's Human Rights report|textbooks used in PA schools]]. In its 2009 Human Rights report, the US Department of State wrote that after a 2006 revision of textbooks by the PA Ministry of Education and Higher Education, international academics concluded that books did not incite violence against Jews but showed imbalance, bias, and inaccuracy. The examples given were similar to those given by IPCRI.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/nea/136070.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100315154816/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/nea/136070.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2010-03-15|title=Israel and the occupied territories}}</ref>

In 2013 the results of a rigorous study, which also compared Israeli textbooks to PA textbooks, came out. The study was launched by the [[Munib Younan|Council for Religious Institutions in the Holy Land]], an interfaith association of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim leaders in Israel and the Occupied Territories. The study was overseen by an international Scientific Advisory Panel and funded by the US State Department<ref>[http://www.crihl.org/content/israeli-palestinian-schoolbook-project Israeli-Palestinian schoolbook Project] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130204092622/http://www.crihl.org/content/israeli-palestinian-schoolbook-project |date=4 February 2013 }}, Council of the Religious Institutions of the Holy Land, 2009.</ref> The Council published a report "Victims of Our Own Narratives? Portrayal of the 'Other' in Israeli and Palestinian School Books".<ref name="Ziri">Danielle Ziri, [http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=302102 "Textbooks show both sides to blame for enmity"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130304221219/http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=302102 |date=4 March 2013 }}, ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'', 4 February 2013.</ref> Most books were found to be factually accurate except, for example, through presenting maps that present the area from the river to the sea as either Palestine or Israel. Israeli schoolbooks were deemed superior to Palestinian ones with regard to preparing children for peace, although various depictions of the "other" as enemy occurred in 75% of Israeli, and in 81% of Palestinian textbooks.<ref name="Ackerman">Gwen Ackerman [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-04/israeli-palestinian-textbooks-reflect-narratives-of-conflict.html 'Israeli, Palestinian Textbooks Reflect Narratives of Conflict,'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140502001206/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-04/israeli-palestinian-textbooks-reflect-narratives-of-conflict.html |date=2 May 2014 }} at [[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg com]], 4 February.</ref> The study praised both Israel and the Palestinian Authority for producing textbooks almost completely unblemished by "dehumanizing and demonizing characterizations of the other". Yet many troubling examples were given of both sides failing to represent each other in a positive or even adequate way. And the problem was more pronounced in PA textbooks.<ref name="Sanders">Edmund Sanders, [https://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-israeli-palestinian-textbooks-unbalanced-20130204,0,3549890.story 'Israeli and Palestinian textbooks fail balance test, study finds,'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130227112539/http://www.latimes.com/news/world/worldnow/la-fg-wn-israeli-palestinian-textbooks-unbalanced-20130204,0,3549890.story |date=27 February 2013 }} at [[Los Angeles Times]], 4 February 2013</ref>
* Neutral depictions of "the other" were found in 4% of Israeli, and 15% of Palestinian textbooks.
* Overall negative or very negative representations of Palestinians occurred 49% of the time in Israeli state school books (73% in Haredi school books) and in 84% of Palestinian textbooks.<ref name="Sanders" />
* Highly negative characterizations were discerned in 26% of Israeli state school books and 50% of the Palestinian ones.<ref name="Ziri" />

All in all there seems to be broad agreement that there is continual improvement in the textbooks used by UNRWA—but very strong disagreement about whether the improvement is sufficient. In response to a critical report{{citation needed|date=February 2024}} written in 2009 by former UNRWA general counsel James G. Lindsay, fellow researcher for [[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] [[John Ging]], head of UNRWA Gaza, said: "As for our schools, we use textbooks of the Palestinian Authority. Are they perfect? No, they're not. I can't defend the indefensible."{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

UNRWA has taken many steps since 2000 to supplement the PA curriculum with concepts of human rights, nonviolent conflict resolution, and tolerance. According to the UNRWA website:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unrwa.org/what-we-do/human-rights-education |title=What we do: Human Rights Education |publisher=UNRWA |access-date=5 January 2015 |archive-date=11 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411110651/http://www.unrwa.org/what-we-do/human-rights-education |url-status=live }}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=December 2023}}

<blockquote>We have been delivering human rights education in our schools since 2000 to promote non-violence, healthy communication skills, peaceful conflict resolution, human rights, tolerance, and good citizenship. In May 2012, the Agency endorsed its new Human Rights, Conflict Resolution and Tolerance (HRCRT) Policy to further strengthen human rights education in UNRWA. This policy builds upon past successes, but also draws from international best practices and paves the way to better integrate human rights education in all our schools. The HRCRT Policy reflects the UNRWA mandate of quality education for Palestine refugees and sets out a common approach among all UNRWA schools for the teaching and learning of human rights, conflict resolution and tolerance. The vision of the policy is to "provide human rights education that empowers Palestine refugee students to enjoy and exercise their rights, uphold human rights values, be proud of their Palestinian identity, and contribute positively to their society and the global community."</blockquote>In 2021, the Australian and Canadian governments started investigating UNRWA, and the British government found that UNRWA had produced and disseminated textbooks inciting violence. UNRWA blocked public access to its website contents in response. [[Philippe Lazzarini|Phillipe Lazzarini]] admitted to the European Parliament that the study materials in UNRWA's schools featured incitement to violence, glorification of acts of terror, and antisemitism,<ref name=":9">{{Cite news |title=How UNRWA Became the Second-most Influential Organization in Gaza After Hamas |language=en |work=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/2023-12-12/ty-article-magazine/.premium/how-unrwa-became-the-second-most-important-organization-in-gaza/0000018c-5deb-d798-adac-fdefaf450000 |access-date=2023-12-12 |archive-date=14 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231214092351/https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/palestinians/2023-12-12/ty-article-magazine/.premium/how-unrwa-became-the-second-most-important-organization-in-gaza/0000018c-5deb-d798-adac-fdefaf450000 |url-status=live }}</ref> but insisted that the agency takes steps to prevent the material from being taught.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNRWA Chief Challenged by EU Parliament on PA Textbooks, acknowledges antisemitism, glorification of terrorism |url=https://us13.campaign-archive.com/?u=cda888712516195d04c9534ec&id=9e510e8a3e |access-date=2023-12-12 |website=us13.campaign-archive.com |archive-date=12 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212222631/https://us13.campaign-archive.com/?u=cda888712516195d04c9534ec&id=9e510e8a3e |url-status=live }}</ref>

A review performed in 2024 names using "host-country textbooks with problematic content" as one of the issues with UNRWA's neutrality.<ref name="magramo">{{cite news |last1=Magramo |first1=Kathleen |last2=Edwards |first2=Christian |last3=Sangal |first3=Aditi |title=UNRWA neutrality must be strengthened, independent review finds |url=https://edition.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-04-22-24#h_04e164891070a0708f16b13ac2285323 |work=CNN |date=22 April 2024 |language=en |access-date=24 April 2024 |archive-date=24 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240424115416/https://edition.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-04-22-24/h_04e164891070a0708f16b13ac2285323 |url-status=live }}</ref> The review states "Three international assessments of PA textbooks in recent years have provided a nuanced picture,..Two identified presence of bias and antagonistic content, but did not provide evidence of antisemitic content. The third assessment, by the [German-based] [[Georg Eckert Institute]], studied 156 PA textbooks and identified two examples that it found to display antisemitic motifs but noted that one of them had already been removed, the other has been altered."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/22/israel-unrwa-staff-terrorist-links-yet-to-provide-evidence-colonna-report|title=Israel has yet to provide evidence of Unrwa staff terrorist links, Colonna report says|first=Julian|last=Borger|date=22 April 2024|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=22 April 2024|archive-date=22 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240422141150/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/22/israel-unrwa-staff-terrorist-links-yet-to-provide-evidence-colonna-report|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Relationship with Hamas====
In October 2004 UNRWA Commissioner-General [[Peter Hansen (UN)|Peter Hansen]] caused controversy in Canada when he said in an interview with [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]] TV:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/canada-looking-at-un-agency-over-palestinian-connection-1.506576|title=Canada looking at UN agency over Palestinian connection|access-date=1 September 2014|archive-date=9 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909005430/http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/canada-looking-at-un-agency-over-palestinian-connection-1.506576|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title= Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad|first1= Matthew|last1= Levitt|first2= Dennis|last2= Ross|year= 2007|publisher= Yale University Press|isbn= 9780300122589|page= 95|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CG-AjU3rraQC&pg=PA95|access-date= 2011-01-19|archive-date= 25 April 2024|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240425133121/https://books.google.com/books?id=CG-AjU3rraQC&pg=PA95#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status= live}}</ref>

<blockquote>Oh I am sure that there are Hamas members on the UNRWA payroll and I don't see that as a crime. Hamas as a political organization does not mean that every member is a militant and we do not do political vetting and exclude people from one persuasion as against another.

We demand of our staff, whatever their political persuasion is, that they behave in accordance with UN standards and norms for neutrality.</blockquote>

Hansen later specified that he had been referring not to active Hamas members, but to Hamas sympathizers within UNRWA. In a letter to the Agency's major donors, he said he was attempting to be honest because UNRWA has over 8,200 employees in the Gaza Strip. Given that opinion polls show 30% support of Hamas in Gaza at the time, and UNRWA's workforce of 11,000 Palestinians, at least some Hamas sympathizers were likely to be among UNRWA's employees. The important thing, he wrote, was that UNRWA's strict rules and regulations ensured that its staff remained impartial UN servants. Hansen was retired from United Nations service against his will on 31 March 2005 after the United States blocked his reappointment.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4191313.stm|title=Unrwa head to go against his will|date=20 January 2005|via=news.bbc.co.uk|access-date=6 December 2010|archive-date=11 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411133049/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4191313.stm|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="icej">{{cite web|url=http://nir.icej.org/news/headlines/brief-unrwa-chief-hansen-pushed-out|title=IN BRIEF: UNRWA Chief Hansen Pushed Out &#124; ICEJ Northern Ireland|publisher=nir.icej.org|access-date=2014-09-14|archive-date=7 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907234027/http://nir.icej.org/news/headlines/brief-unrwa-chief-hansen-pushed-out|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="theguardian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jan/20/usa.israel|title=Bush forces UN refugee chief to go|work=The Guardian|date=20 January 2005|access-date=2014-09-14|archive-date=5 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305033026/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jan/20/usa.israel|url-status=live}}</ref>

UNRWA has come under criticism from Hamas for teaching Palestinian students Western values. According to [[Hazem Balousha]], some Hamas officials objected to UNRWA organized trips for Palestinian students to visit [[Holocaust]] remembrance sites. Hamas officials also opposed other UNRWA organized trips for Palestinian students to the US and Europe.<ref>{{cite web |date=9 April 2013 |title=Hamas Gaza Tension UNRWA |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/hamas-gaza-tension-unrwa.html#ixzz3AYAQUIx9 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819094747/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/hamas-gaza-tension-unrwa.html#ixzz3AYAQUIx9 |archive-date=19 August 2014 |access-date=2014-08-16 |publisher=al-monitor.com}}</ref> According to ''[[The Guardian]]'', Hamas has in some cases threatened UN staff in Gaza.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{cite news |last1=Sherwood |first1=Harriet |date=4 August 2014 |title=UN dragged into conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/04/un-dragged-conflict-israel-hamas-gaza |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119111823/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/04/un-dragged-conflict-israel-hamas-gaza |archive-date=19 January 2024 |access-date=15 September 2014 |agency=The Guardian}}</ref> [[James G. Lindsay]], a former UNRWA general counsel and affiliated with the pro-Israel [[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] published a report for WINEP in 2009 in which he said UNRWA did not take enough steps to detect and prevent members of Hamas from joining the organization.<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=131264 'UNRWA staff not tested for terror ties'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918034318/http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=131264 |date=18 September 2011 }}, ''[Jerusalem Post]''.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lindsey |first=James |date=2009-01-26 |title=Fixing UNRWA: Repairing the UN's Troubled System of Aid to Palestinian Refugees |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/fixing-unrwa-repairing-uns-troubled-system-aid-palestinian-refugees |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=Washington Institute for Near East Policy |language=en}}</ref>

According to ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]'', Hamas won a teachers union election for UN schools in Gaza in 2009.<ref>[http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Hamas-wins-teachers-union-elections-for-UN-schools-in-Gaza Hamas wins teachers union elections for UN schools in Gaza] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819084509/http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Hamas-wins-teachers-union-elections-for-UN-schools-in-Gaza |date=19 August 2014 }}, ''Jerusalem Post'' 29 March 2009</ref> UNRWA has strongly denied this and pointed out that "Staff elections are conducted on an individual – not party list – basis for unions that handle normal labour relations – not political – issues."<ref>[http://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/letter-editor-un-agency-responds LETTER TO THE EDITOR: UN AGENCY RESPONDS] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715185942/http://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/letter-editor-un-agency-responds |date=15 July 2015 }}, UNRWA 9 April 2009</ref> In addition, [[John Ging]], the Gaza head of operations, said in a letter dated 29 March 2009 that employees must not "be under the influence of any political party in the conduct of their work."<ref>{{cite news|title=Letter obtained by Associated Press|newspaper=Ynetnews|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3695945,00.html|date=1 April 2009|access-date=2014-08-16|archive-date=19 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819105118/http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3695945,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Israeli newspaper [[Yedioth Ahronoth]] stated in 2012 that a staff union election resulted in 25 of the 27 seats going to Palestinians who were either Islamist or sympathetic towards Hamas. More than 9,500 UNRWA employees in the Gaza Strip participated; this represented more than 80% turnout. The professional list won three UNRWA workers groups: the employees', teachers', and services' unions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Landslide victory for Hamas bloc in the UNRWA staff union elections|date=18 September 2012|url=http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?_ContentType=ART&_ContentID=fa401655-e672-4a10-ae50-c8d3c51da767|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030163944/http://www.palestine-info.co.uk/En/default.aspx?_ContentType=ART&_ContentID=fa401655-e672-4a10-ae50-c8d3c51da767|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 October 2014|access-date=9 January 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/4329-overwhelming-victory-for-islamists-in-unrwa-union-elections|title=Overwhelming Victory for Islamists in UNRWA Union Elections|date=18 September 2012|access-date=2014-08-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819084948/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/4329-overwhelming-victory-for-islamists-in-unrwa-union-elections|archive-date=19 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to the Israeli government , UNRWA employed at least 24 members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad in 24 of its schools; the majority were principals or deputy principals, and several were fighters in the [[Al-Qassam Brigades|Qassam Brigades]].  Also, Israel provided intelligence about 18 UNRWA workers it accused of participating in the [[October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel|October 7, 2023, attacks]].<ref name="g389">{{cite web |last1=Becker |first1=Jo |last2=Rasgon |first2=Adam |date=2024-12-08 |title=Records Seized by Israel Show Hamas Presence in U.N. Schools |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/world/middleeast/hamas-unrwa-schools.html |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>

====Hamas interference====
{{See also|Hamas–UNRWA Holocaust dispute}}
It has been reported that Hamas has interfered with curriculum and textbooks in UNRWA schools.<ref name="hamas-rejects"/> For example, in 2009 it caused UNRWA to [[Hamas–UNRWA Holocaust dispute|suspend a decision]] to introduce Holocaust studies in its schools.<ref name="The Economist">{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|title=Hamas in Gaza: A proper state already|url=http://www.economist.com/node/21530173|access-date=2011-09-25|date=24 September 2011|archive-date=25 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925162427/http://www.economist.com/node/21530173|url-status=live}}</ref> One of UNRWA's flagships has been gender-equality and integration. But Hamas militants have firebombed UNRWA mixed-gender summer camps,<ref name="theguardian.com" /> and in 2013 Hamas passed a law requiring gender segregation in schools for all pupils nine years of age and older in Gaza.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/gaza-education-law-gender-segregation.html |title=Gaza Education Law Gender Segregation |date=4 April 2013 |access-date=2014-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140724013313/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/04/gaza-education-law-gender-segregation.html |archive-date=24 July 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The law does not apply to UNRWA schools.

Elhanen Miller, the Arab affairs reporter for ''[[The Times of Israel]]'', wrote in February 2014 that Hamas was "bashing" UNRWA's human rights curriculum, saying that it included too many examples and values foreign to Palestinian culture and had too much emphasis on peaceful resistance rather than armed resistance. In this case UNRWA refused to be swayed. Spokesman [[Chris Gunness]] said:<ref>{{cite web |title=Hamas bashes UNRWA's human rights curriculum |work=The Times of Israel |date=2014-02-11 |url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-bashes-unrwas-human-rights-corriculum |access-date=2014-09-07 |archive-date=8 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140908020157/http://www.timesofisrael.com/hamas-bashes-unrwas-human-rights-corriculum/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

<blockquote>UNRWA has no plans to change its education programs in Gaza ... human rights are taught in all UNRWA schools from grades 1 through 9, discussing the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]].

UNRWA's education system takes as its basis the curriculum taught by the PA and so we use PA textbooks in preparing children in Gaza for public examinations. ... In addition, we enrich our education programs in Gaza with an agreed human rights curriculum which has been developed with the communities we serve: with educationalists, parents groups, teachers associations, staff members and others. We have done our utmost in developing these materials to be sensitive to local values while also being true to the universal values that underpin the work of the United Nations.
</blockquote>

However, after a few days, UNRWA consented to temporarily suspending the use of only the books used in grades 7–9 (continuing to use the books used in grades 1–6) pending further discussions.<ref name="hamas-rejects">{{cite web|title=Hamas rejects UN textbooks in Gaza schools|agency=Associated Press|work=Haaretz|date=2014-02-13|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.574208|access-date=2014-09-07|archive-date=19 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519093750/http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.574208|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Operation of summer camps====
Hamas has denounced UNRWA and Ging, accusing them of using their summer camps to corrupt the morals of Palestinian youth. Hamas also advised UNRWA to reexamine its curriculum to ensure its suitability for Palestinian society, due to the mixing of genders at the camps. In September 2011 it was reported that, under pressure from Hamas, UNRWA has made all its summer camps single-sex.<ref name="The Economist" /> Hamas has its own network of summer camps and the two organizations are regarded to be vying for influence with Gazan youth.<ref>{{cite news |title=News of Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (May 18–25, 2010) |date=26 May 2010 |publisher=Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center}}</ref> [[Palestinian Islamic Jihad|Islamic Jihad]] has also run summer camps since 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/gaza-summer-camps-children-islamic-jihad.html |title=Gaza Summer Camps Children Islamic Jihad |date=21 June 2013 |access-date=2014-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819091737/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/06/gaza-summer-camps-children-islamic-jihad.html |archive-date=19 August 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> UNRWA did not operate its summer camps for summer 2012 and summer 2014 due to a lack of available funding. Hamas has filled this void and now is the direct provider of summer activities for about 100,000 children and youths.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/06/palestine-hamas-summer-camps-ideology.html|title=Palestine Hamas Summer Camps Ideology|date=19 June 2014|access-date=2014-08-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819131702/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/06/palestine-hamas-summer-camps-ideology.html|archive-date=19 August 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2013, UNRWA canceled its planned marathon in Gaza after Hamas rulers prohibited women from participating in the race.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/un-cancels-gaza-marathon-over-hamas-ban-on-women/|title=UN cancels Gaza marathon over Hamas ban on women|first=Diaa|last=Hadid|website=www.timesofisrael.com|access-date=18 March 2013|archive-date=10 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310055227/http://www.timesofisrael.com/un-cancels-gaza-marathon-over-hamas-ban-on-women/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2013, Israeli media outlets aired a video documenting UNRWA-funded summer camps where children are being taught to engage in violence with Israelis. The video airs speakers telling campers "With God's help and our own strength we will wage war. And with education and Jihad we will return to our homes!" A student is also shown on camera describing that "the summer camp teaches us that we have to liberate Palestine."<ref name="ReferenceA"/> UNRWA denies that the video shows UNRWA summer camps and instead shows footage of camps that were not operated by UNRWA, and stated that the film was "grossly misleading" and that "the film-maker concerned has a history of making baseless claims about UNRWA, all of which we have investigated and demonstrated to be patently false." It stated that the 'summer camp' shown in the West Bank was not affiliated with or organized by UNRWA, and that footage from the camp in Gaza "revealed that absolutely nothing anti-Semitic or inflammatory was done or said".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/unrwa-rejects-allegations-incitement-baseless-statement-unrwa|title=UNRWA Rejects Allegations of Incitement as Baseless: Statement by UNRWA Spokesperson Chris Gunness|website=UNRWA|access-date=8 April 2021|archive-date=8 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210408205437/https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/official-statements/unrwa-rejects-allegations-incitement-baseless-statement-unrwa|url-status=live}}</ref>