The United Nations has argued in a U.S. federal court case that staffers who participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led massacre of some 1,200 people in southern Israel enjoy legal immunity, a position supported by the U.S. Department of Justice.
In a filing to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, the world body claimed that “since the U.N. has not waived immunity in this instance, its subsidiary, UNRWA, continues to enjoy absolute immunity from prosecution, and the lawsuit should be dismissed,” Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Saturday night.
The Biden administration was said to have echoed the U.N.'s position on the suit filed by Oct. 7 victims, with the Department of Justice telling the court that “the plaintiff’s complaint does not present a legal basis for claiming that the United Nations waived its immunity.
“Because the U.N. has not waived immunity in this case, its subsidiary, UNRWA, retains full immunity, and the lawsuit against UNRWA should be dismissed due to lack of subject matter jurisdiction,” the Department of Justice said.
Though the U.N., its agencies and officials enjoy immunity from “every form of legal process” under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, adopted in 1946, the world body has “the right and the duty” to waive this immunity in some instances.
An internal U.N. probe concluded last month that nine UNRWA staffers “likely or very likely” participated in the Oct. 7 massacre. The Israeli government insists that this is merely the tip of the iceberg.
More than 100 Oct. 7 terror victims participated in the lawsuit against UNRWA, which was filed three months ago and alleges that the scandal-plagued agency has led a long-standing money-laundering operation to the financial benefit of the Hamas terrorist organization.
The federal lawsuit names as defendants UNRWA as well as seven of its commissioners-general, deputy commissioners-general and a director.
The lawsuit proves that UNRWA and its officials “actively participated in the diversion of funds earmarked to support the people of Gaza into channels that ensured those funds were used for terrorism,” Bijan Amini, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, told JNS in June.
The office of U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in response to the claim that “we are aware of press reports that a lawsuit has been filed in the United States against UNRWA and certain of its officials.
“The U.N., including UNRWA, enjoys immunity from legal process, as do United Nations officials, including those serving with UNRWA,” his office continued, adding that “the United Nations will liaise with the United States authorities as necessary in this matter.”
In July, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office slammed UNRWA after the Foreign Ministry published more evidence that the “aid agency” is employing hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists.
“Israel has told donor countries that hundreds more of UNRWA’s 13,000 local staff are active Hamas terrorists, including school teachers,” Prime Minister’s Office Public Diplomacy Directorate spokesman David Mencer told reporters on July 11.
“We have provided much evidence that UNRWA works hand-in-hand with Hamas,” Mencer added, referring to the Hamas server farm found under UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters, the UNRWA staffers who took part in the Oct. 7 massacre and the tunnels underneath UNRWA schools.
“UNRWA is useless at aid distribution. UNRWA is useless at education, except glorifying suicide bombers and encouraging Jew-killing, and Israel sees no role whatsoever for UNRWA in Gaza after this war ends,” he said.
