Government ‘urgently’ addresses UNRWA over employment of Hamas commander

The UK government will hold urgent talks with UNRWA after reports surfaced that a Hamas commander, killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, had been employed as a teacher by the relief agency.

The Foreign Office told Jewish News: “We are raising this case urgently. UNRWA must meet the highest standards of neutrality as laid out in Catherine Colonna’s report, including staff vetting.”

Hamas this week confirmed that Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin, a top Hamas commander in Lebanon, killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon alongside his wife, son and daughter, was  a “successful teacher and excellent [school] principal.”

Abu el-Amin was head of the UNRWA teachers union in Lebanon until his suspension in March.

Agency head Philippe Lazzarini has since told reporters whilst el-Amin was under investigation for his political involvement, UNRWA denied knowing he was a Hamas leader: “The specific allegation at the time was that (he was) a part of the local leadership… I never heard the word commander before. What’s obvious for you today, was not obvious yesterday.”

In an official statement, the IDF on Monday said “Fateh Sherif, Head of the Lebanon Branch in the Hamas terrorist organization, was eliminated in a precise IAF strike.”

The IDF alleges that Sherif was “responsible for coordinating Hamas’ terror activities in Lebanon with Hezbollah operatives, as well as Hamas’ efforts in Lebanon to recruit operatives and acquire weapons. Fateh Sherif was also an accredited @UNRWAmember, and was the head of the UNRWA Teachers Union in Lebanon.”

The government statement to Jewish News comes several weeks after British Foreign Secretary David Lammy confirmed that the UK had resumed funding for UNRWA and would provide £21 million in support.

The UK, in line with other nations had suspended funding to UNRWA over allegations that some employees had been supportive of Hamas following the October 7th attacks.