Tiwigirl

TERROR WARNINGS IGNORED exclusive - Joe Hildebrand… For anyone without a subscription ☺️ The federal government may have broken its own anti-terrorism laws by providing funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine, a top legal and counter-terrorism expert has warned. Dr Glenn Kolomeitz, an international criminal lawyer and former legal adviser to the NSW Police Counter Terrorism Command, says the $6 million in aid to UNRWA announced by Foreign Minister Penny Wong during her Middle East visit may have breached federal law. Australia and other nations this week suspended their funding to UNRWA after Israel said 12 UNRWA employees participated directly in the Hamas October 7 terror attacks. However, the Australian government was warned by 30 Jewish organisations in December that there was “mounting evidence” that elements of UNRWA had links to Hamas and yet still went ahead with the funding. The Commonwealth Criminal Code Act states: “A person commits an offence if the person intentionally … makes funds available to an organisation (whether directly or indirectly) and the organisation is a terrorist organisation and the person is reckless as to whether the organisation is a terrorist organisation.” Dr Kolomeitz said the problem wasn’t just the latest revelation “Equally shocking is the news that members of our government were made aware of the relationship between Hamas and UNRWA by Jewish groups … but the government, nonetheless, committed further funds to UNRWA.” Dr Kolomeitz said if the government knew money provided to UNRWA was going to Hamas or was even “reckless” as to that fact, it had serious questions to answer. “As a matter of law, recklessness merely requires that the government was aware of a substantial risk that funds going to UNRWA were, directly or indirectly, going to Hamas, and it was unjustifiable to take that risk,” he said. Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said: “We have been warning Australian governments for years that UNRWA is responsible for incitement and glorification of terrorism and in teaching antisemitism in schools it operates.” UNRWA is the only UN agency delivering aid in Gaza. Senator Wong is understood to have raised issues with UNRWA’s educational material when she met its head during her trip. “Australia takes its counter-terrorism and sanctions obligations when delivering humanitarian assistance very seriously, including any allegations of incitement or other breaches of neutrality,” a DFAT spokesperson said. “We will continue to hold UNRWA accountable for its adherence to principles of neutrality.” UNRWA says the 12 employees have been sacked. #auspol