AMN
Six European countries have paused funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinians, yesterday, following allegations that some of its staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland joined the United States, Australia and Canada in pausing funding to the aid agency, a critical source of support for people in Gaza, after the allegations by Israel.
UNRWA commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini, in a social media post said that Palestinians in Gaza did not need this additional collective punishment. He said the decision by the nine countries threatened its humanitarian work across the region, especially in Gaza. He urged the countries who have frozen funding to reconsider their decisions as Gaza faces the risk of mass starvation. The Palestinian foreign ministry criticized what it described as an Israeli campaign against UNRWA, and Hamas condemned the termination of employee contracts. Announcing the investigation, Lazzarini had said on Friday that he had decided to terminate the contracts of some staff members to protect the agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance.
On the other hand, Israel has praised the countries that have halted their support to the UN agency, saying it wants to completely stop its operations after the war on Gaza has ended. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, encouraging more donor suspensions said that UNRWA should be replaced once fighting in the enclave dies down and accused it of ties to Islamist militants in Gaza. He added that in Gaza’s rebuilding, UNRWA must be replaced with agencies dedicated to genuine peace and development.
UNRWA was set up to help refugees of the 1948 war at Israel’s founding and provides education, health and aid services to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. It helps about two thirds of Gaza’s population and has played a pivotal aid role during the war that Israel launched to eliminate Hamas after the October 7 attacks.