The ongoing saga of the UN agency that has found itself both storing for and then supplying back terror weapons to terrorists has an update. Ban Ki-moon, who was telling the Qataris how terrible Israel is last week, and was in Israel yesterday telling us we’re bad and to restrain ourselves, has issued a statement!
The first rockets were found in a UNRWA school on July 17th. A few days later UNRWA were sheepishly forced to admit they handed the rockets back to Hamas (euphemistically they were referred to as “local authorities”). Two days ago UNRWA announced they’d found another secret stash of deadly terrorist weapons in one of their schools:
As soon as the rockets were discovered, UNRWA staff were withdrawn from the premises, and so we are unable to confirm the precise number of rockets. The school is situated between two other UNRWA schools that currently each accommodate 1,500 internally displaced persons.
So this school with the rockets sits between two other schools brimming full of the wretched refuse of Gaza’s teeming shore, huddled in masses and (we hope) yearning to breathe free of Hamas. Quite a good place to store your terrorist weapons if, like Hamas, you want civilians to die in Israeli airstrikes.
Their Press Release this time said:
The Agency immediately informed the relevant parties and is pursuing all possible measures for the removal of the objects in order to preserve the safety and security of the school.
So we don’t know where these ones have gone yet though at least one AP report says these too have “gone missing“.
Now, on 24th of July, and following Ban Ki-moon’s visit, he’s put out his own statement and he is OUTRAGED that rockets were found. Is he outraged that they were there or that they were found I wonder?
His statement is almost satire on it’s own. I will present it in full at the end. In the meantime I’d like to introduce you to two more UN agencies you’ve never even heard of, who will be called upon to avoid giving the rockets back to the terrorists:
We have UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS). I have no idea why the last one isn’t UNDSS.
Some gems in there: I do like how he recognises that his own organisation is involved in breaking “UN Security Council resolution 1860 (2009), which calls for the prevention of arms smuggling” and also that UNRWA “should be held accountable for endangering the lives of civilians in this manner”.
I do like this vague plea to whoever has influence over Hamas (remember, he was with one of their main financial backers, the Qataris last week): “The Secretary-General calls on all of those who have any influence over militant groups to send an unmistakable message that this is unacceptable.”
SECRETARY-GENERAL, OUTRAGED AT ROCKETS FOUND IN UNITED NATIONS-ADMINISTERED SCHOOL
IN GAZA, DIRECTS FULL REVIEW, SWIFT IMPLEMENTATION OF SECURITY PLAN
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:
The Secretary-General is alarmed to hear that rockets were placed in an UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) school in Gaza and that subsequently these have gone missing. He expresses his outrage, and regret, at the placing of weapons in a UN-administered school. By doing so, those responsible are turning schools into potential military targets, and endangering the lives of innocent children, UN employees working in such facilities, and anyone using the UN schools as shelter.
The Secretary-General notes that this is inconsistent with UN Security Council resolution 1860 (2009), which calls for the prevention of arms smuggling. He demands that militant groups, who are responsible, must stop such actions and should be held accountable for endangering the lives of civilians in this manner.
The Secretary-General has asked for a full review of such incidents and how the UN responds in such instances. The United Nations is taking concerted action to increase its vigilance in preventing such episodes from happening again. To this end, the Secretary-General has directed the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS) and the UN Mine Action Service (UNMAS) to immediately develop and implement an effective security plan for the safe and secure handling of any weapons discovered in United Nations premises. Further, he has directed UNMAS to immediately deploy personnel with expertise to deal with this situation.
The Secretary-General calls on all of those who have any influence over militant groups to send an unmistakable message that this is unacceptable.
Finally, the Secretary-General expresses his full support for the tremendous work of the staff of UNRWA, who continue to operate under deeply challenging circumstances.
