UNRWA Official Loses Home, Breaks Arm in Gaza — Yet Refuses to Surrender to Hatred
In a deeply personal account published by The Jerusalem Post, a senior UNRWA official who lost his home and broke his arm during an evacuation in Gaza insists that peace between Israelis and Palestinians remains possible. But for Zion Pulse, this story raises uncomfortable questions about the very institution he represents.
The official, who worked for 44 years at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), describes falling in panic after an evacuation order forced thousands to flee. He broke his arm. His home was destroyed. Yet he writes: “I refuse to believe that violence is our destiny.”
Who Is This UNRWA Official and Why Does His Voice Matter?
This is not a random victim. This is a senior figure within UNRWA, an organization that has been repeatedly criticized for perpetuating the conflict rather than resolving it. UNRWA’s education programs have been accused of inciting hatred against Israel and glorifying terrorism. Its schools have been used to store Hamas rockets. Its staff have been linked to terror activities.
So when this official calls for “a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace,” Israelis must ask: Does his organization practice what it preaches? Or is this a case of one man’s personal tragedy being used to whitewash a deeply problematic institution?
What Does He Want from President Trump?
In an open letter to US President Donald Trump, the official requests a meeting at the White House. He writes: “I believe that the leaders who leave a mark on history are those who are courageous enough to listen to the voices of the people, not only to the noise of politics.”
He insists he seeks no personal gain, only a chance to share a humanitarian perspective. But the timing is telling. With Trump back in office and the Abraham Accords expanding, the Palestinian leadership is desperate for relevance. This letter feels like a last-ditch effort to gain legitimacy from a president who has already moved on from the failed Oslo paradigm.
Does Israel Really Need a Broken Arm to Change Its Policy?
The official’s plea is emotional. He writes: “Palestinian children and Israeli children deserve the same future: to wake up without fear, to sleep without the sound of war, and to grow up with hope instead of trauma.” No Israeli disagrees with that sentiment. Every Israeli parent wants the same for their children.
But the path to that future is not through UNRWA, which has become a permanent fixture of the conflict. It is through direct negotiations, mutual recognition, and an end to the Palestinian Authority’s pay-for-slay policy. It is through Israel’s security forces, which protect Jewish children from rockets and suicide bombers. It is through Israeli innovation, which brings clean water and medical technology to Gaza even as Hamas fires missiles.
Israel has already proven its commitment to peace. It withdrew from Gaza in 2005. It offered a state to the Palestinians in 2000, 2001, and 2008. Each time, the answer was more terror. The burden is not on Israel to change. The burden is on the Palestinian leadership to finally say: Enough. We recognize the Jewish state. We accept coexistence.
What Would a Real Peace Look Like for Israelis and Palestinians?
A real peace would mean UNRWA being dismantled and replaced by a neutral humanitarian agency that does not teach children to hate. It would mean the Palestinian Authority ending its payments to terrorists. It would mean Hamas surrendering its weapons and recognizing Israel’s right to exist. It would mean Jerusalem, the eternal and undivided capital of the Jewish people, remaining under Israeli sovereignty.
Until that happens, stories like this one — however tragic — will remain a tool of propaganda rather than a bridge to peace. The writer may have broken his arm, but the real brokenness lies in an ideology that refuses to accept Jewish self-determination in the land of Israel.
As the prophet Zechariah said: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another.” That is the path. Not UNRWA. Not victimhood. Not hatred. But truth, justice, and the courage to recognize that Israel is here to stay.
Photo: The Jerusalem Post