Exclusive: German official under fire for claim Israel stokes ‘disinformation’ against UNRWA

The German commissioner for humanitarian aid, Ina Heusgen, is facing intense criticism for her claim that Israel is waging a ‘disinformation’ campaign against UNRWA and caused the deaths of 100,000 people in Gaza. 

Sources familiar with a closed German parliament (Bundestag) meeting on Wednesday exclusively told i24NEWS that Heusgen lashed out against the Jewish state and its efforts to root out Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

Heusgen claimed Israel conducts a “policy of disinformation” against The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

Israel’s government shut down UNRWA’s operation in Israel on Thursday. Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said "UNRWA has miserably failed in its mandate." Danon added the decision to close UNRWA in Israel “was driven by UNRWA's constant refusal to address the widespread infiltration of its ranks by Hamas and other terrorist organizations."  

According to Israel’s government, dozens of UNRWA employees played a role in Hamas’ slaughter of over 1,200 people on October 7.  

Heusgen claimed only 9 UNRWA workers had links to Hamas, and they were immediately kicked out. She added the UNRWA employees were fired even though "the Israeli allegations could not be independently verified."

Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, told i24NEWS about Heusgen’s remarks that “Casting UNRWA as a victim Is just garbage” and he added that “denial is used as a weapon” by Heusgen. 

Cooper said her refusal to recognize UNRWA’s role in the massacre and UNRWA’s “pro-war” school curriculum “is a denial of what happened on October 7.”

He termed Heusgen’s denial ”The same psychosis regarding if anyone can get away with denying the Shoah, it is playing out right now.” 

Cooper, who participated this past week in a German Justice ministry event on combating antisemitism in Berlin, said:” I would love to ask Heusgen in a meeting,

have you given any thought that Hamas built hundreds of kilometres of terror tunnels under UNRWA facilities? Did UNRWA ever go to the Israelis or western journalists to say there is a highway of terrorist tunnels under the Gaza Strip?”

The German foreign ministry official, Heusgen, added, without evidence, that Israel killed 100,000 people in Gaza. She continued that “You have to ask yourself whether the military response was the right solution.” She noted "The debate is very difficult here in Germany when it comes to criticism of the Israeli government."

The Bundestag session became intensely personal for Heusgen, who said “My husband [Christoph Heusgen] is not an antisemite. Ehud Olmert called him after Wiesenthal’s allegations and told him that he didn’t think he was an antisemite.”

The Simon Wiesenthal Center listed the former German ambassador to the UN, Christoph Heusgen, in its 2019 list of top ten outbreaks of antisemitism for his remarks equating Israel with the Hamas terrorist organization during a United Nations Security Council session.

On January 6, Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, blasted Christoph Heusgen for urging Germany to enforce the ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu. Prosor wrote on X “It took Heusgen 20 days to whitewash Hamas’ barbaric massacre—an 'action' in his terms—claiming it didn’t happen in a vacuum. He cherry picks international law to fit his anti-Israel agenda. For years, he has twisted its principles to put Israel in the dock, constantly demonizing and delegitimizing Israel while justifying war criminals’ repulsive attacks.”

Prosor did not immediately respond to an i24NEWS press query about Ina Heusgen’s attacks on the Netanyahu administration’s UNRWA policy. 

Ina Heusgen was embroiled in a nepotism scandal in 2017. The German media reported that her husband secured her a high-earning job ($107 459 Dollar) at the UN by using his government contacts. The Heusgens did not respond to i24NEWS press queries.

Rabbi Cooper said “I applaud Israel’s decision to kick out UNRWA. UNRWA is an advocate for the deadly status for Palestinians and keeping them as refugees.” The Biden and Trump administrations have refused to fund UNRWA.

Germany is one of the major funders of UNRWA. In March 2024, Berlin announced that it is providing EUR 45 million to the agency.

 Cooper said “I am hoping that more serious voices will emerge from German officials. What Germany’s says and does on issues of antisemitism and terrorism are extraordinarily important.” 

Germany’s ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, did not immediately respond to i24NEWS press queries. According to the IDF, since the start of ground operations in the Gaza Strip on October 27, 2023, 405 soldiers have fallen in combat. Hamas officials claim that Israel has killed more than 47,000 people in Gaza. Hamas does not distinguish between terrorists and civilians. The Hamas number of 47,000 plus fatalities cannot be independently verified. It is unclear what the source for Heusgen’s 100,000 dead in Gaza is.