A new report by UN Watch found that the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization repeatedly identified Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives as journalists after they were killed in Gaza, even after evidence of their terrorist affiliations became public.
According to the report, released on Wednesday, UNESCO “has neither corrected nor withdrawn the statements in question” despite later acknowledgments by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad that several of those identified as journalists were members of their organizations.
Among the cases cited is Mohammed Manhal Abu Armana, whom UNESCO identified as “a journalist for the news agency Palestine Now.” UN Watch said Hamas later released a martyrdom video identifying Abu Armana as a platoon commander and showing him carrying weapons, firing a rocket-propelled grenade and declaring, “By Allah, we will not betray this blood.”
The report also cites Anas al-Sharif, whom UNESCO identified as an Al Jazeera journalist. UN Watch said Israeli authorities had released evidence before UNESCO issued its statement alleging that al-Sharif headed a Hamas cell responsible for facilitating rocket attacks.
“UNESCO action to defend press freedom around the globe has tremendous potential,” UN Watch stated. “This golden opportunity is squandered, however, when the authority of the United Nations is used to make factual assertions that have not been adequately verified.”
UN Watch called on UNESCO Director-General Khaled El-Enany to review all journalist casualty statements issued since Oct. 7, 2023, to “correct or retract” inaccurate entries, investigate the agency’s verification procedures and publicly identify the officials responsible for the designations.
