In the wake of Israel’s allegations that terrorists loaded a Kassam missile on to an UNRWA ambulance, UNRWA hasn’t just responded defensively. They have gone on the offensive.
“We want an apology from the Israelis, because we didn’t commit any wrongdoing,” said Lionel Brisson, UNRWA director of operations.UN workers do not carry weapons or armed militants in the agency’s vehicles, he added.
The man Israel want out, UNRWA head Peter Hansen, has been even more outspoken.
Hansen, in an interview with Channel 1, said he wasn’t worried about Gillerman’s meeting with Annan. “What I am worried about is that such serious allegations are made on such a flimsy basis,” he said, adding that the charges amounted to incitement against UNRWA.In a press release he added, “I am concerned that such false allegations can lead to increased aggressive behavior by Israelis towards the United Nations in general and UN humanitarian staff in particular, and therefore seriously increase the risks which UN personnel face in this zone.
(By speaking of increased aggressive behavior, Hansen is implying that Israelis are already acting aggressively towards UN and human rights personnel. That is a serious allegation.)
Hansen continues:
“Given the gravity of the allegation, I immediately ordered my staff to obtain a copy of the footage in question and initiated an investigation into the alleged facts.“I have now seen the footage in question. I can confirm it shows one of UNRWA’s ambulances. It then shows three persons walking swiftly towards it. One of these persons is carrying in one hand a light, long, and thin object. The person then easily throws the object into the back of the ambulance.“While the quality of the video clip is poor, its analysis shows beyond the shadow of a doubt that the object carried and thrown into the vehicle is not/cannot be a Kassam rocket: I have been told that a Kassam rocket weighs at least 32 kilograms and that its diameter is approximately 17 cm.,” wrote Hansen. He added that the object in the video is much thinner and lighter.
Hansen already gave the following response to Ha’aretz yesterday:
Hansen told Haaretz that it is easy to prove that the suspicious looking object in the photo is a stretcher. According to Hansen, the image broadcast on television shows two men approaching two ambulances, one of whom is carrying an object that could not weigh more than a few kilos. He said that he had learned from a simple Google search that a Qassam rocket is 1.80 meters long and weighs 50 kilos.The photographic image, on the other hand, Hansen explained, reveals an object 5 centimeters wide, while the Qassam has a diameter of 17 centimeters. A piece of cloth, he added, was clearly visible in the photo, which proves it was an ambulance stretcher, and naturally, this is what the ambulance crew were carrying. Hansen also said that he is concerned that the IDF’s unfounded accusations might lead to incitement, since soldiers who give credence to the IDF statement, may become suspicious of every ambulance that arrives at a checkpoint, putting UNRWA crews in grave danger.
A comparison of his two responses reveals the following differences.
| Yesterday | Today |
|---|---|
| Absolutely no mention of an investigation | Says he immediately launched an investigation |
| Found out the size and weight of a Kassam from Google | Was told about the size and weight of a Kassam |
| Says it cannot be a Kassam because the object in video is too small and light, and also the existence of cloth proves it is a stretcher | Does not mention the existence of cloth to prove the object is a stretcher |
| Described the video footage as showing two men approaching the ambulance | Described the video footage as showing three men approaching the ambulance |
| Says he is concerned that the allegations will lead to incitement by IDF soldiers | Says he is concerned that the allegations will lead to increased aggressive behavior by Israelis against UN staff |
The fact that Hansen has modified both the substance and emphasis of his rebuttal suggests to me that he is lying. It also illustrates a supreme arrogance and confidence, and a belief that no matter what he says, he is untouchable.
Update: Reader Justin writes:
As much as I’d like to agree…being a paramedic who’s seen many stretchers in my day, I must concur that the item identified as a”missile” or some other object is indeed a stretcher or close enough to a stretcher to keep this from being a smoking gun.
He also provided this link which shows how a folded stretcher could look like a missile.
While I concur that this brings what transpired out of the realm of a “smoking gun”, I still posit that it is likely that the allegations are founded for the following reasons:
Update: A further reason: Read this account by a PLO Arab who claims he is the man who put the “stretcher” in the ambulance.
Rescue worker Wahel Ghabayen, 38, says he is the man seen running in an IDF video allegedly showing terrorists using a UN ambulance to transport a Kassam rocket.Speaking to reporters at a UN press conference in Gaza City, Ghabayen said he had run with a stretcher, not a rocket, to a school in Jabalya on Friday after he heard that someone there may have been wounded. The wounded boy had already been moved by the time he arrived, he said.“I came back to the car with the stretcher, and I folded it and threw it inside the car,” he said. “If it was a missile, I would not throw it into the car but would put it in carefully.”
Here is the footage again. You will notice that the man on film runs to the ambulance, and throws the object into the ambulance. There does not seem to be any folding, as claimed by Ghabayen.
Furthermore, why would he be running back to the ambulance after discovering that no child was injured? The men in the footage are clearly in a rush.
Update: Here’s the clincher (hat tip: Damian Penny):
Hansen said he believes there are Hamas members on UNRWA’s payroll, but they have to follow UN rules on remaining neutral.“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,” Hanson told CBC TV.
Update: Here is more on what happens when you have Hamas members on your payroll.
In April 2003, The Jerusalem Post obtained a document drawn up by the defense establishment claiming that terrorist organizations operating in Palestinian Authority controlled areas took advantage of UNWRA workers and their vehicles to transport terrorists and arms.At that time, Peter Hansen vehemently denied the claims; however, the document noted that Palestinian terrorists arrested by Israeli security forces admitted to using UNWRA equipment, facilities and vehicles.The defense report focused on UNWRA employee Nahed Rashid Ahmed Atallah, a resident of the Jabalya refugee camp, who was arrested in August 2002 as he returned to Gaza from Egypt.The report claimed that Atallah, who worked in 1987 as the director of food supplies for refugees in the Gaza Strip, was provided with a UN vehicle and UN laissez-passer entitling him to unrestricted travel in the area.Atallah later admitted to investigators that he used his vehicle to transport terrorists and arms. He also made use of his pass to travel to Egypt, Lebanon and Syria where he contacted members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and received funds and transported arms.Atallah was charged on eight counts of aiding terror, including conspiring to trade in arms, assisting in attempted premeditated murder, and possessing illegal arms. Hansen, at the time, denied the claims.A secret Shin Bet report also documented the use of UNWRA facilities to harbor terrorists and aid in terror activities. According to the report released in December 2002, a number of Palestinians who were arrested by the security forces admitted to using UNWRA facilities and vehicles to plot and carry out attacks.One of the examples stated in the report pertained to Mohammed Ali Hassan, who was arrested in February 2002 and admitted to using a local UNWRA facility in Nablus for target practice and storing weapons.The same report claimed that an UNWRA club located in the Jabalya refugee camp and another club in the El-Aroub refugee camp near Hebron were used as meeting points for Fatah-Tanzim activists.The Shin Bet report also claimed that Nidal Nazal, an UNWRA ambulance driver arrested in July 2002, admitted to using his ambulance to transport ammunition to different terror cells. Other detainees who admitted using UNWRA vehicles to transport terrorists en route to perpetrate attacks were also detailed in the report.
So what we have here is a UN official, knowingly employing terrorists likely to abuse ambulances and other UN infrastructure, denying that there has been any abuse. We have, at best, gross negligence and, at worst, knowing complicity in terrorism. Either way, there must be repercussions; either Hansen is dismissed from his post in the case of negligence, or dismissed and charges brought against him in an Israeli court if he has knowingly assisted terrorists.
I will now be as bold as to say that I believe Hansen has at least tacitly approved of the terrorist activities. Given the past suspicions and allegations against UNRWA, why would he continue to have Hamas members on the payroll? Answer: He approved of their actions and believed that UNRWA could hide the truth.
