Tipsheet

UN Plays the Victim As Israel Cancels Visa for Humanitarian Coordinator

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  December 07, 2023 9:30 AM

The United Nations has really been having a rough time in the weeks and now months since Hamas perpetrated an attack against Israel on October 7, to which the UN has been, at best, slow to respond to. The body hasn't taken very lightly to people calling them out for showing their true colors when it comes to not supporting Israel enough, and, even behaving with anti-Israel sentiments. That looks to increasingly be catching up with them.

On Wednesday, reports came out that Israel was cancelling the visa for UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in the Palestinian Territories Lynn Hastings. As the Times of Israel covered, it's over "her refusal to speak out against Hamas." Israel Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen addressed the matter from his X account on Tuesday. He even put "UN 'humanitarian' coordinator" in scare quotes. 

The Times of Israel report noted that Cohen has given Hastings two weeks to leave the country, as she's based in East Jerusalem.

In case it isn't obvious how the UN feels about Israel and Palestine, Hastings' official title is "Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and United Nations Resident Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory."

That same day, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths rushed to his X account to lament Hastings' situation. 

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"The ongoing campaigns against UN colleagues and aid workers are deeply upsetting," Griffiths complained. "Questioning the integrity of those working tirelessly to make a difference is, at best, disingenuous and, at worst, perilous." He went on to come out in defense of Hastings in particular, calling them "in particular... vicious as they are unjustified." Griffiths went on to express his full support for Hastings.

So strong were his statements one might think he might express such passion and urgency when it comes to calling out Hamas for killing 1,200 Israelis, or the rape, torture, and kidnapping they took part in.

Further, has Griffiths examined why it is that there are "ongoing campaigns," specifically when it comes to the justified criticism against these "UN colleagues and aid workers?" The UN Women's account only just last Friday came out against Hamas with a pinned post, and even then, there were problems with such a statement. Worse, the UN even looks to be complicit in the keeping and mistreatment of hostages, as Townhall has also covered, with one hostage revealing that he was held at the home of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) teacher. After they were called out for both instances, those entities went with shamefully rehearsed non-answers in response.

An advanced search of Griffiths' posts shows that he himself has not made any posts condemning Hamas. The one time he mentioned the terrorist group in his posts since the October 7 attack was to post on November 22 that "I welcome the agreement reached by Israel and Hamas." The agreement for a temporary ceasefire was broken was not long after broken. Hamas attacked people in Jerusalem and also has been unwilling to release all of the female hostages.

His first post when news of the terrorist attack broke, on the early afternoon of October 7, mentioned a statement that made an "appeal to all sides to stop the fighting immediately..."

While Griffiths' post of outrage came on Wednesday afternoon, the timing is quite curious here. Reuters reported last Friday that "UN says Israel will not renew visa for top aid official," with the headline indeed referring to Hastings' plight. It was a "U.N. spokesperson" who indicated as much in the report, too.

Griffiths and the UN overall, especially and including UN Secretary-General António Guterres, have focused on calling for a ceasefire, despite how a ceasefire would really only benefit Hamas. Further, Hamas was the one who broke ceasefires that were in place, before the October 7 attack and also more recently when the fighting resumed. Guterres reiterated the call for a ceasefire in invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter, to bring the matter to the Security Council.

From booting staffers to publicly shaming the body and its various entities, the UN's days could be numbered, at least when it comes to what influence and respect it may have had left. As we covered on Wednesday in an exclusive, Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Mike Rogers (R-AL), as well as Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) have introduced legislation to defund the UN.