Scandal at UNRWA: a student from a UN school called to "kill Jews" and become a martyr

A new scandal hits the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) after a video went viral showing a student from a school run by the agency openly declaring his desire to become a jihadist, kill Jews, and die as a martyr.

The footage was released by the organization UN Watch and shows a teenager identified as Kutaiba Hatab, a student at the UNRWA Jalazone School, delivering violent antisemitic messages on camera.

In one of the most shocking clips, the young man states: “Those Jews, who are dogs, we will crush their heads.” In another part of the video, he adds: “I want to be a jihadist and kill Jews for Allah and become a martyr.”

The recording sparked strong international outrage and once again put the role of UNRWA under scrutiny, an agency that has faced allegations for years of extremist indoctrination, antisemitism, and links to Palestinian terrorist organizations.

UNRWA is once again under suspicion for extremist indoctrination

The images reignited criticism of the educational system run by UNRWA in Palestinian territories, which has been repeatedly accused of promoting hate speech against Israel and glorifying terrorism.

Various independent reports and international organizations had previously denounced the presence of antisemitic content in school textbooks linked to the UN agency, including references to “armed resistance,” glorification of martyrs, and the removal of the State of Israel from educational maps.

For critics of the agency, the video represents brutal evidence of the type of narrative consumed by many young Palestinians within structures partially funded by international money.

The controversy also comes at a particularly delicate time for UNRWA, following multiple allegations about employees allegedly linked to Hamas and other terrorist organizations.

Israel has been denouncing UNRWA's role for years

The Israeli government has been warning for some time that UNRWA has ceased to function as a neutral humanitarian agency and has become an organization permeated by extremist sectors.

Following the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, Israel intensified its accusations against the organization, claiming that part of its infrastructure was used directly or indirectly by terrorist groups in Gaza.

The new footage released by UN Watch further strengthened the Israeli position, which argues that there is a structural problem of radicalization within the Palestinian educational system run by the UN.

For many analysts, it is impossible to talk about peace or coexistence while children and adolescents are exposed from an early age to narratives that glorify the killing of Jews and Islamist martyrdom.

The video generated outrage on social media

After the material was released, users from around the world expressed their outrage on social media and questioned how institutions funded with international money continue to allow such discourse.

Many pointed out that if similar statements were directed against any other ethnic or religious group, the scandal would be immediate and global.

Others highlighted the double standard of much of the Western media and international organizations, which often minimize or relativize antisemitic expressions when they come from radicalized Palestinian sectors.

The recording also fueled the debate over the use of international funds allocated to UNRWA and the oversight mechanisms over its schools and educational programs.

Calls to review international funding to the agency are growing

In light of the repeated scandals, several Western countries have begun in recent months to review or freeze part of their funding to UNRWA.

Critics argue that the international community cannot continue to fund structures where racial hatred, religious fanaticism, and violence against Israeli civilians are promoted.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to insist on the need to deeply reform or even replace the agency with alternative humanitarian mechanisms that are not tainted by extremist propaganda.

The new video released by UN Watch raises an uncomfortable question for the United Nations: how did an institution created under the discourse of humanitarian aid repeatedly become linked with radical indoctrination and antisemitism?