Israel buying ads on Google searches of 'Unrwa' to discredit UN agency

Israel is buying advertising on Google search results for "Unrwa", in a clear attempt to discredit the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Wired reported on Monday.

According to the report, the Israeli government advertising agency bought ads for searches for "Unrwa" and "Unrwa USA" to draw search users to a website linking the agency to Hamas.

On the government-run website, Israel alleges that Unrwa has not declared whether employing Hamas members violates its neutrality, a charge the agency strongly rejects.

In January, several western countries suspended financing Unrwa after Israel accused 12 of the organisation's 30,000 employees of participating in the surprise attack by Hamas on southern Israel on 7 October.

The Colonna report, which was commissioned by the UN to probe Israel's allegations, found that Israeli authorities had not provided "any supporting evidence" to back up allegations of Unrwa staff links to Hamas.

unrwa gaza damaged wall+ — A Palestinian woman walks past a damaged wall bearing the Unrwa logo at a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah, 28 May 2024 (AFP/Eyad Baba)