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Former UNRWA spokesman attacks Israel in bizarre Christmas-themed Twitter rant

Chris Gunness, who left the U.N.'s Palestinian refugee agency earlier this year, spent Christmas Eve writing holiday-themed parodies mocking the Jewish state.

UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness speaks at the 2014 International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East at Sophia University in Tokyo, on June 9, 2014. Photo: United Nations / John Gillespie via Wikimedia Commons.
UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness speaks at the 2014 International Media Seminar on Peace in the Middle East at Sophia University in Tokyo, on June 9, 2014. Photo: United Nations / John Gillespie via Wikimedia Commons.

Former United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) spokesperson Chris Gunness launched a bizarre Twitter rant this week against Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Instead of peace on earth and goodwill toward men, Gunness unleashed scathing attacks on Israel for Christmas with parodies of famous holiday songs and poems.

In a post directed at Netanyahu, Gunness referred to the recent news that the International Criminal Court is considering investigating Israel for war crimes:

“To Mr Netanyahu / You better watch out, you better not cry / You better not pout, I’m telling you why / The ICC is coming to town. / They know you’ve done some war crimes / They know you you’ve been corrupt / They know you’ve sanctioned settlements / You are absolutely f****d.”

In a subsequently deleted post, Gunness also made fun of Palestinians “collaborators” who were brutally executed by Hamas:

“Twas the night before Christmas, / when all across The Strip / Not a Qasam Rocket crackled / under Israel’s tight grip / Collaborators twitched as they hung in the air / On the lamp posts that glistened in Palestine Square.”

Although he’s no longer a representative of the international body, his comments are highly irregular for a former official who was supposed to be a neutral arbiter in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.

Naturally, his tweets sparked outrage on the social media platform.

Author Kay Wilson, for example, the survivor of a 2010 Palestinian terrorist attack, condemned Gunness not only for his tweets but for his entire tenure at UNRWA, an organization now facing serious corruption allegations, posting on Twitter:

“Said @ChrisGunness who enabled terrorists to fire rockets on Israeli women, men and children by sheltering them in buildings, left his #UNWRA in squalor, helped himself to a massive salary & shameless faked tears on TV. If there’s an investigation, let’s hope he’s first.”

This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.

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