Wall Street Journal UNRWA article controversy

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Screenshot of the January 29, 2024 Wall Street Journal article "Intelligence Reveals Details of U.N. Agency Staff’s Links to Oct. 7 Attack"

On January 29, 2024, a Wall Street Journal article, "Intelligence Reveals Details of U.N. Agency Staff’s Links to Oct. 7 Attack" co-authored by Carrie Keller-Lynn and David Luhnow, reported on the key claims of an Israeli intelligence dossier, that between 4 and 12 UNRWA employees were allegedly involved in the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on Israel, and were accused of participating in various capacities, ranging from roles in logistics and weapons procurement to hostage taking and direct participation in the attacks.[1][2][3] Israel alleged that around ten percent of the UNRWA's 13,000 employees in the Gaza Strip have connections to Islamist militant groups, primarily Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and that 190 UNRWA employees were militants.[4]

## Criticism[edit]

On the Al-Jazeera English current affairs programme The Listening Post, Palestinian-Canadian rights lawyer Diana Buttu opined that the "problem with these types of allegations is that they adopt the Israeli narrative without questioning or second-guessing it."[5]

Al-Jazeera English reported on the Journal article, characterizing it as a "journalistic failure", noting that the authors did not fact check Israeli claims that one in 10 of UNRWA's staff members had "links to (Hamas or other) militants" or even specify what "links" meant.[citation needed]

In commentary for The Intercept, Jeremy Scahill criticized it for a number of reasons, saying the piece "read to him… like an Israeli government press release filled with unsubstantiated allegations" which was then "passed off as an article" in one of American's leading newspapers.[6]

## See also[edit]

* Israel's war on Gaza

## References[edit]

1. ^ Bunkall, Alistair. "Israeli intelligence report claims four UNRWA staff in Gaza involved in Hamas kidnappings". news.sky.com. Sky News. Archived from the original on 31 January 2024. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
2. ^ Keller-Lynn, Carrie; Luhnow, David (2024-01-29). "At Least 12 U.N. Agency Employees Tied to Oct. 7 Attacks, Intelligence Reports Say". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-29.
3. ^ Bergman, Ronen; Kingsley, Patrick (29 January 2024). "Details Emerge on U.N. Workers Accused of Aiding Hamas Raid". New York Times. Archived from the original on 29 January 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
4. ^ Williams, Dan; Tétrault-Farber, Gabrielle (29 January 2024). "Israel accuses 190 UN staff of being 'hardened' militants". Reuters. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
5. ^ "Why is Israel targeting key UN agency UNRWA in Gaza? | The Listening Post (at 00':26")". Al-Jazeera English. 3 February 2024. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
6. ^ "Biden Stands at the Precipice of a Greater War in the Middle East and His Political Future". The Intercept. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 24 February 2024.

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