NEW YORK — The United Nations coordinator for humanitarian affairs, Valerie
Amos, has confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that the investigation into a
controversial Twitter posting by its staff member Khulood Badawi has been
completed.
In March, Badawi, an information officer for the UN’s Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Jerusalem, tweeted a photo of a
Palestinian child covered in blood and falsely claimed she was killed by an IDF
strike.
Badawi tweeted the following text along with the photo:
“Palestine is bleeding. Another child killed by Israel... Another father
carrying his child to a grave in Gaza.”
The picture, it emerged, was
published in 2006 by Reuters and was of a Palestinian girl who died in an
accident unrelated to Israel.
A subsequent investigation was launched by
the UN Development Program, which held Badawi’s contract for employment, even
though she worked for OCHA.
Amos did not release details on the
investigation’s findings, stating that she was awaiting recommendations from
UNDP.
Israel’s UN mission had no immediate reaction.
United
Nations Ambassador Ron Prosor has in the past demanded that Badawi be fired. In
July, Prosor sent Amos a letter asking for the investigation to be
expedited.
Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.