A press conference was held today by the Hostages Families Forum in response to UNRWA being among the nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize, which will be announced tomorrow.
Ayelet Samerano, mother of Yonatan Samerano who was murdered on October 7th and whose body was taken to Gaza by an UNRWA social worker, spoke at the press conference. She was joined by Daniel Carmon, the Deputy Permanent Representative at Israel's UN mission and Ambassador to India, and Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch.
Ayelet stated, "In the first few months after October 7, we reached out to many human rights organizations and peace organizations. We sought help from these organizations, because they advocate for human rights and peace. We hoped they would assist us in bringing back the hostages."
"To our shock, after 100 days, we discovered that the person who kidnapped our child works for UNRWA. He was a social worker employed by UNRWA, an organization whose sole purpose is supposed to be providing humanitarian aid. UNRWA was founded on the principles of human rights and humanity. However, this is clearly not the case with UNRWA as we know it now. We're talking about an organization that has taken a very active part in the murder, rape, and kidnapping of innocent people.
"It's inconceivable that such an organization could be nominated for such an important award as the Nobel Peace Prize.
"The Nobel Peace Prize should be given to those who promote peace and push for humanitarian aid, not to those who participate in actions that are the complete opposite of humanity," she said.