US Justice Department reverses its stance, declaring UNRWA is not protected by legal immunity in a case brought by families of victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre. The lawsuit accuses the UN agency of direct complicity in terror and fraud.
The US Department of Justice informed the Southern District Court of New York on Thursday that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) does not possess legal immunity, signaling a major departure from previous American policy, JNS reported.
This statement marks a key development in a lawsuit launched last year by the families of individuals murdered or abducted during the brutal Hamas invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The plaintiffs accuse UNRWA of complicity in the massacre, with Israel asserting that at least 18 employees of the agency were directly involved in the assault.
The legal challenge also claims that billions of dollars in aid funneled through UNRWA to Gaza were misused, alleging the funds ended up in the hands of Hamas and allied terrorist factions.
“The complaint in this case alleges atrocious crimes committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, and its factual allegations, taken as true, detail how UNRWA played a significant role in those heinous offenses,” stated the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in its submission to Judge Analisa Torres.
The Justice Department acknowledged a shift in its interpretation of the law. “Previously, the government expressed the view that certain immunities shielded UNRWA from having to answer those allegations in American courts,” the filing noted. “The government has since re-evaluated that position and now concludes that UNRWA is not immune from this litigation. Nor are the bulk of other defendants.”
The government’s filing emphasized that UNRWA, although established through a UN General Assembly resolution, does not meet the legal threshold to be considered an organ of the United Nations itself. Furthermore, the Justice Department questioned whether the General Assembly even had the authority to create such a body under international law.
This new legal posture stands in contrast to the position previously maintained by the Biden administration, which had defended UNRWA and the broader United Nations from such lawsuits by citing diplomatic immunity.
Should the court rule against UNRWA’s claim to immunity, the agency, its leadership, and potentially even the UN as an institution, could be exposed to significant financial liability in the form of damages awarded to victims’ families.
In response to the DOJ’s declaration, the office of UN Secretary-General António Guterres told JNS, “We have seen the letter filed by the U.S. Department of Justice with the court. We will review it carefully.”
“The position of the United Nations is longstanding and clear. UNRWA is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly and, as such, is entitled to immunity from legal process under the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,” the statement continued. UNRWA issued the same response.
UNRWA has long been criticized for its cooperation with Hamas. That criticism has increased since Israel revealed a year ago that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
It then presented a dossier showing that the UNRWA workers who participated in the Hamas massacre kidnapped a woman, handed out ammunition and actively took part in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 people were murdered.
Following the Israeli revelations, Guterres announced the creation of a review group, headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, to look into the Israeli allegations.
The group, which released its report last April, said it found neutrality-related issues” in UNRWA but also claimed that Israel had yet to provide evidence for allegations that a significant number of its staff were members of terrorist organizations.
More recently, Emily Damari, a former Hamas hostage who was freed after 470 days in captivity, said that she was held at an UNRWA facility while in captivity.The US Department of Justice informed the Southern District Court of New York on Thursday that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) does not possess legal immunity, signaling a major departure from previous American policy, JNS reported.
This statement marks a key development in a lawsuit launched last year by the families of individuals murdered or abducted during the brutal Hamas invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The plaintiffs accuse UNRWA of complicity in the massacre, with Israel asserting that at least 18 employees of the agency were directly involved in the assault.
The legal challenge also claims that billions of dollars in aid funneled through UNRWA to Gaza were misused, alleging the funds ended up in the hands of Hamas and allied terrorist factions.
“The complaint in this case alleges atrocious crimes committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, and its factual allegations, taken as true, detail how UNRWA played a significant role in those heinous offenses,” stated the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in its submission to Judge Analisa Torres.
The Justice Department acknowledged a shift in its interpretation of the law. “Previously, the government expressed the view that certain immunities shielded UNRWA from having to answer those allegations in American courts,” the filing noted. “The government has since re-evaluated that position and now concludes that UNRWA is not immune from this litigation. Nor are the bulk of other defendants.”
The government’s filing emphasized that UNRWA, although established through a UN General Assembly resolution, does not meet the legal threshold to be considered an organ of the United Nations itself. Furthermore, the Justice Department questioned whether the General Assembly even had the authority to create such a body under international law.
This new legal posture stands in contrast to the position previously maintained by the Biden administration, which had defended UNRWA and the broader United Nations from such lawsuits by citing diplomatic immunity.
Should the court rule against UNRWA’s claim to immunity, the agency, its leadership, and potentially even the UN as an institution, could be exposed to significant financial liability in the form of damages awarded to victims’ families.
In response to the DOJ’s declaration, the office of UN Secretary-General António Guterres told JNS, “We have seen the letter filed by the U.S. Department of Justice with the court. We will review it carefully.”
“The position of the United Nations is longstanding and clear. UNRWA is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly and, as such, is entitled to immunity from legal process under the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,” the statement continued. UNRWA issued the same response.
UNRWA has long been criticized for its cooperation with Hamas. That criticism has increased since Israel revealed a year ago that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
It then presented a dossier showing that the UNRWA workers who participated in the Hamas massacre kidnapped a woman, handed out ammunition and actively took part in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 people were murdered.
Following the Israeli revelations, Guterres announced the creation of a review group, headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, to look into the Israeli allegations.
The group, which released its report last April, said it found neutrality-related issues” in UNRWA but also claimed that Israel had yet to provide evidence for allegations that a significant number of its staff were members of terrorist organizations.
More recently, Emily Damari, a former Hamas hostage who was freed after 470 days in captivity, said that she was held at an UNRWA facility while in captivity. Damari, who holds both British and Israeli citizenship, told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that she was denied adequate medical care while being detained at an UNRWA school.
The UN’s top humanitarian aid official, Tom Fletcher, later denied the claims and stated that he has “not seen a shred of evidence” suggesting the UN was involved in the holding of hostages in Gaza, either through the use of its facilities or by its staff.
