To the editor:

The UN’s claim that its employees are afraid to go to Gaza reflects a realistic assessment of what Hamas terrorists may do to them to seize the aid going into the Strip. For Hamas, the first priority is taking possession of food, fuel and other commodities — first to put to its own use and then to sell at exorbitant prices to its loyal followers in Gaza, to fatten the bank accounts of its leaders sitting by the swimming pool in a hotel off in Doha.

If UN officials were serious about getting aid to innocent civilians, it would begin by demanding that Hamas withdraw its personnel from among the civilian population, but that would require it to admit the Israeli position on Hamas is correct — something the UN has never managed.

Yale Zussman

Framingham

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: letter to editor UN demand hamas to withdraw from civilian population