9 Countries Suspend UNRWA Funding After Workers Allegedly Participated In Oct. 7 Massacre

JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Nine Western countries – United States, Australia, Canada, Italy, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom – have temporarily stopped their funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The move comes in the wake of allegations that workers in the agency were actively involved in the Oct. 7th attacks.

On Friday, Mark Regev, an adviser to the Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu, told the BBC that the 7 October Hamas attacks had involved “people who are on their [UNRWA] salaries”.

Regev said that there was information showing teachers working in UNRWA schools had “openly celebrated” the 7 October attacks.

He also referred to an Israeli hostage who, on her release, said she had been “held in the house of someone who worked for UNRWA”.

“They have a union which is controlled by Hamas and I think it’s high time that the UN investigated these links between UNRWA and Hamas,” he added.

In the wake of these allegations, the US, Australia and Canada as well as Britain (including Scotland but not including Ireland) and five other European countries have suspended funding to UNRWA, which has 13,000 employees and is the largest UN relief organization currently working in Gaza.

These countries collectively contributed approximately 650 million dollars to UNRWA in 2022.

The UN special envoy on Palestine Affairs, Francesca Albanese, slammed the announcements by various countries that they would be suspending funding to UNRWA in the wake of reports that employees were involved in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

“The day after International Criminal Court (ICJ) concluded that Israel is plausibly committing Genocide in Gaza, some states decided to defund UN Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA,) collectively punishing millions of Palestinians at the most critical time, and most likely violating their obligations under the Genocide Convention,” Francesca Albanese wrote on X.

UNRWA commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini also said that this funding suspension is “shocking” as “the lives of people in Gaza depends on this support.”

“Nine countries have as of today temporarily suspended their funding to UNRWA,” Lazzarini said. “These decisions threaten our ongoing humanitarian work across the region including and especially in the Gaza Strip.

“It is shocking to see a suspension of funds to the Agency in reaction to allegations against a small group of staff, especially given the immediate action that UNRWA took by terminating their contracts and asking for a transparent independent investigation. The United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the highest investigative authority in the UN system, has already been seized of this very serious matter.

“UNRWA is the primary humanitarian agency in Gaza, with over 2 million people depending on it for their sheer survival.   Many are hungry as the clock is ticking towards a looming famine. The Agency runs shelters for over 1 million people and provides food and primary healthcare even at the height of the hostilities.

“In its ruling yesterday, the International Court of Justice ordered that “Israel must take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip”. These measures are aimed at preventing irreparable damage to the rights of Palestinians.

“The only way that this can be done is through cooperation with international partners, especially UNRWA as the largest humanitarian actor in Gaza. Some 3,000 core staff out of 13,000 in Gaza continue to report to work, giving their communities a lifeline which can collapse anytime now due to lack of funding.

“It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an Agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals, especially at a time of war, displacement and political crises in the region.

“UNRWA shares the list of all its staff with host countries every year, including Israel. The Agency never received any concerns on specific staff members.”

Norway welcomed investigations of some staffers but said it would continue to support Palestinians via UNRWA. Ireland also announced earlier that it would not suspend funding to the UN agency.