Staff Reports
The United Nations held its solemn annual memorial in June and, to the shock of no one who has watched the organization limp from scandal to scandal, one of the names read aloud turns out to be someone a Geneva watchdog says is a Hamas field commander. UN Watch has published videos and social posts identifying the man as Imad Yousif El Samhouri, a UNRWA teacher and principal in Rafah. Secretary‑General António Guterres and U.N. General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock were on stage. The U.N. refuses to apologize. Yes, really.
What happened at the U.N. memorial
The U.N. held its annual memorial service in June, reading the names of 136 U.N. personnel who died while serving. The ritual included an “eternal flame” and remarks from the Secretary‑General praising the fallen as people who made “our world a better place.” UN Watch says one of the names was Imad El Samhouri, who it alleges appears in a Hamas “martyr” video and in other social posts calling jihad “our path” and praising tunnel attacks. According to the watchdog, El Samhouri worked for UNRWA as a teacher and school principal in Rafah and moved between UNRWA facilities for years.
U.N. response: no retraction, no apology
The U.N. spokesperson has essentially shrugged. Stéphane Dujarric said the roster of UNRWA names is shared with Israeli authorities and that no concerns were raised at the time. Translation: the U.N. will not retract the tribute and will not apologize. UN Watch, joined by Israel’s U.N. ambassador and other critics, demanded a public apology, a retraction, and an independent investigation into how someone alleged to be a militant made it into U.N. schools and onto the memorial list. The dispute now pivots on two competing claims: UN Watch’s evidence and the U.N.’s insistence it did not know.
Why this matters — oversight, donors, and children
This isn’t a one‑off clerical flub. Allegations of militant ties among UNRWA staff have dogged the agency for years. If a person who praises terrorism can teach children in a U.N. classroom, that is not merely embarrassing — it is dangerous and unacceptable. Donor governments and member states should stop pretending this is an administrative hiccup and demand real answers. An independent forensic review of UNRWA hiring, payroll and supervision practices is the bare minimum. If the U.N. won’t commission it, donors should condition funding until an outside audit proves UNRWA’s neutrality and the integrity of U.N. memorial lists.
Mr. Guterres and Ms. Baerbock lit an eternal flame and praised the work of those named. That phrase now hangs heavy over an organization that must choose between accountability and cover‑up. The world deserves an honest reckoning: either the U.N. cleans house and transparently investigates this claim, or responsible nations should stop bankrolling institutions that can’t—or won’t—protect the very people it claims to serve. No more eternal flames for terrorists. No more polite silence from the U.N.
