Reported by ISABEL OAKESHOTT

Israeli and United States intelligence agencies believe Iran funnels up to $100 million a year to Hamas — but what about the hundreds of millions sent to Gaza by the U.N.?

Funded primarily by the U.S. and the European Union, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) effectively underpins Hamas in Gaza, providing almost all essential public services in the territory, including education, health care, key infrastructure and food supplies. Without the UNRWA, everyday life in the Gaza strip — desperate and dysfunctional as it is — would collapse.

Hamas, the official government, seems neither willing nor able to provide these basics, let alone grow the economy and create opportunities for a better life for all.

When the UNRWA was first established in 1949, following the Arab-Israeli war, it supported around 700,000 displaced people — today, it caters to around 5.6 million individuals designated as refugees. And over the years, there’s been compelling evidence the agency is fueling Palestinian extremism, whether by employing individuals affiliated with Hamas or condoning the use of textbooks and materials in UNRWA-run schools that delegitimize Israel and denigrate Jews.

Hamas has also been known to use the agency’s facilities to store weapons, hide entrances to tunnels and divert aid for its own purposes.

In August 2018, then–U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew funding to the UNRWA, labeling it an “irredeemably flawed operation.”

Read full report: https://www.politico.eu/article/biggest-source-of-money-laundering-in-gaza-hides-in-plain-sight-israel-hamas/