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Shocking Revelation: United Nations Counts Palestinian Fighters as ‘Civilians’ in Death Count
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 79th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters in New York, U.S., September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
According to the United Nations, the below are photos of civilians. That’s odd, because Ahmed Abu Obeid and Saqer Abed were Islamic Jihad gunmen, killed in June 2024 during what the terror group described as a “fierce” battle with Israeli soldiers. And Said Izzat Jaber, killed that same month, was a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist.
If we zoom out to look at the whole month, it becomes clear that these are hardly the only casualties misclassified by the UN.
In fact, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the primary body that tallies and characterizes Palestinian casualties, currently insists every single West Bank Palestinian killed by Israel in June was a civilian. The Hamas commander? A civilian. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade gunmen? Civilians. The Islamic Jihad militants? Civilians. The Hamas attackers? Civilians.
For that month, OCHA lists 34 West Bank fatalities, classifying all as civilians. B’Tselem concurs with the number, but in detailing the circumstances of each death makes clear that the vast majority were combatants.
According to the UN’s casualty portal, all 34 of the West Bank fatalities were “civilians.”
The UN’s wholesale misinformation remains when zooming further. In fact, according to OCHA, each and every conflict-related death in the West Bank since January 2008 (the earliest searchable date on its casualty portal) was a civilian.
The UN casualty portal classifies every one of the 1,897 West Bank fatalities it counts since 2008 as “civilian.”
The UN casualty portal classifies every one of the 1,897 West Bank fatalities it counts since 2008 as “civilian.”
The extent of the misinformation has varied somewhat over the past few weeks.
We first checked the portal on March 6, 2025, after a New York Times story cited UN casualty figures. Though OCHA didn’t acknowledge a single fatality was a member of an “armed group” and insisted that every death prior to June 2024 was a civilian, it had at least allowed for the possibility that some post-June 2024 casualties weren’t civilians, categorizing several hundred casualties under the label “Dispute.”
But at some point between then and now, even these “disputed” casualties became “civilians.”
The most generous interpretation might be that a technological glitch erased the combatants. Such generosity, though, might not be warranted.
Even away from the OCHA portal, the United Nations has sought to conceal the many armed terror operatives among Palestinian casualties. In a June 4, 2024, statement, for example, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk and his spokesman Jeremy Laurence referenced the 505 Palestinians killed in the West Bank since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack, chastising Israel for what they called “unacceptable” and “wanton” killing — without offering even a hint that any of the casualties were members of terror groups or involved something more than “throwing stones, incendiary bottles, and firecrackers.”
The UN officials whitewashed the reality, which included intense combat. In the month prior to their statement, for example, 28 (per B’Tselem) or 29 (per OCHA) Palestinians were killed in the West Bank, including: three Hamas operatives, one Islamic Jihad gunman, and one a Lion’s Den militant killed in exchanges of fire; two Palestinians killed during attempted stabbing attacks on Israeli security officials; an armed man; a senior Islamic Jihad terrorist; and someone who died when an Israeli military vehicle drove over Palestinian explosives.
These made up a third of the month’s total fatalities. Others were killed while clashing with Israeli security forces. (Details via B’Tselem.)
A month earlier, in April 2024, the 26 (per B’Tselem) or 29 (per OCHA) Palestinians killed included: a senior Hamas militant; eleven Islamic Jihad gunmen killed during exchanges of fire; two other gunmen; three Palestinians who attempted to stab Israeli security forces; two who threw explosives; and one who might have been inadvertently killed by Islamic Jihad gunmen. These made up about 75 percent of the month’s fatalities.
Given how frequently UN casualty figures are cited in media, OCHA’s widespread misclassification of casualties could have far-reaching consequences. By labeling armed militants as “civilians,” OCHA cultivates a misleading narrative that obscures the reality of armed clashes with terror groups, and instead portrays Israel as engaging in indiscriminate violence against civilians.
Given how Volker Türk has talked about the violence, one might wonder if this misimpression is precisely what UN officials want.
We’ve informed OCHA of its errors and asked about their provenance and duration. We’ll update this space with any response.
Gilead Ini is a Senior Research Analyst at CAMERA, the foremost media watchdog organization focused on coverage of the Arab-Israeli conflict, where a version of this article appeared.
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Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really?
JNS.org – If I asked you to name the most famous line in the Bible, what would you answer? While Shema Yisrael (“Hear O’Israel”) might get many votes, I imagine that the winning line would be “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). Some religions refer to it as the Golden Rule, but all would agree that it is fundamental to any moral lifestyle. And it appears this week in our Torah reading, Kedoshim.
This is quite a tall order. Can we be expected to love other people as much as we love ourselves? Surely, this is an idealistic expectation. And yet, the Creator knows us better than we know ourselves. How can His Torah be so unrealistic?
The biblical commentaries offer a variety of explanations. Some, like Rambam (Maimonides), say that the focus should be on our behavior, rather than our feelings. We are expected to try our best or to treat others “as if” we genuinely love them.
Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in his classic text called the Tanya, argues that the actual feelings of love are, in fact, achievable provided that we focus on a person’s spirituality rather than how they present themselves physically. If we can put the soul over the body, we can do it.
Allow me to share the interpretation of the Ramban (Nachmanides), a 13th-century Torah scholar from Spain. His interpretation of the verses preceding love thy neighbor is classic and powerful, yet simple and straightforward.
“Do not hate your brother in your heart. You shall rebuke him, but do not bear a sin because of him” by embarrassing him in public. “Do not take revenge, and do not bear a grudge against your people. You shall love your fellow as yourself, I am God” (Leviticus 19:17-18).
What is the connection between these verses? Why is revenge and grudge-bearing in the same paragraph as love your fellow as yourself?
A careful reading shows that within these two verses are no less than six biblical commandments. But what is their sequence all about, and what is the connection between them?
The Ramban explains it beautifully, showing how the sequence of verses is deliberate and highlighting the Torah’s profound yet practical advice on how to maintain healthy relationships.
Someone wronged you? Don’t hate him in your heart. Speak to him. Don’t let it fester until it bursts, and makes you bitter and sick.
Instead, talk it out. Confront the person. Of course, do it respectfully. Don’t embarrass anyone in public, so that you don’t bear a sin because of them. But don’t let your hurt eat you up. Communicate!
If you approach the person who wronged you—not with hate in your heart but with respectful reproof—one of two things will happen. Either he or she will apologize and explain their perspective on the matter. Or that it was a misunderstanding and will get sorted out between you. Either way, you will feel happier and healthier.
Then you will not feel the need to take revenge or even to bear a grudge.
Here, says the Ramban, is the connection between these two verses. And if you follow this advice, only then will you be able to observe the commandment to Love Thy Neighbor. If you never tell him why you are upset, another may be completely unaware of his or her wrongdoing, and it will remain as a wound inside you and may never go away.
To sum up: Honest communication is the key to loving people.
Now, tell me the truth. Did you know that not taking revenge is a biblical commandment? In some cultures in Africa, revenge is a mitzvah! I’ve heard radio talk-show hosts invite listeners to share how they took “sweet revenge” on someone, as if it’s some kind of accomplishment.
Furthermore, did you know that bearing a grudge is forbidden by biblical law?
Here in South Africa, people refer to a grudge by its Yiddish name, a faribel. In other countries, people call it a broiges. Whatever the terminology, the Torah states explicitly: “Thou shalt not bear a grudge!” Do not keep a faribel, a broiges or resentment of any kind toward someone you believe wronged you. Talk to that person. Share your feelings honestly. If you do it respectfully and do not demean the other’s dignity, then it can be resolved. Only then will you be able to love your fellow as yourself.
May all our grudges and feelings of resentment toward others be dealt with honestly and respectfully. May all our grudges be resolved as soon as possible. Then we will all be in a much better position to love our neighbors as ourselves.
The post Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself. Really? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘Nonsense’: Huckabee Shoots Down Report Trump to Endorse Palestinian Statehood
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee looks on during the day he visits the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 18, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee on Saturday dismissed as nonsensical the report that President Donald Trump would endorse Palestinian statehood during his tour to the Persian Gulf this week.
“This report is nonsense,” Huckabee harrumphed on his X account, blasting the Jerusalem Post as needing better sourced reporting. “Israel doesn’t have a better friend than the president of the United States.”
Trump is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The leader’s first trip overseas since he took office comes as Trump seeks the Gulf countries’ support in regional conflicts, including the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and curbing Iran’s advancing nuclear program.
However, reports citing administration insiders claimed that Trump has also set his sights on the ambitious goal of expanding the Abraham Accords. These agreements, initially signed in 2020, normalized relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. The accords are widely held to be among the most important achievements of the first Trump administration.
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US to Put Military Option Back on Table If No Immediate Progress in Iran Talks
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – Unless significant progress is registered in Sunday’s round of nuclear talks with Iran, the US will consider putting the military option back on the table, sources close to US envoy Steve Witkoff told i24NEWS.
American and Iranian representatives voiced optimism after the previous talks that took place in Oman and Rome, saying there was a friendly atmosphere despite the two countries’ decades of enmity.
However the two sides are not believed to have thrashed out the all-important technical details, and basic questions remain.
The source has also underscored the significance of the administration’s choice of Michael Anton, the State Department’s policy planning director, as the lead representative in the nuclear talks’ technical phases.
Anton is “an Iran expert and someone who knows how to cut a deal with Iran,” the source said, saying that the choice reflected Trump’s desire to secure the deal.
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