U.N. officials and some donors have renewed calls for a restoration of funding to the main U.N. agency assisting the Palestinians Comments found Israel has provided no evidence to support its claim that many of the agency’s employees are members of terrorist groups.
More than a dozen countries, including the United States, suspended funding to the agency after Israel claimed in January that a dozen of its employees were involved in the October 7 Hamas-led attack and its aftermath , one of the 10 staff in Gaza was a member of Hamas or its ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The United Nations has commissioned an independent review of the agency in januaryThe accusations add significance to the investigation, the results of which were released on Monday, ahead of Israel going public with its claims. The report made a series of recommendations for the agency to protect its neutrality but said “Israel has yet to provide supporting evidence” for accusations that a large number of agency employees were members of terrorist groups.
The review did not address Israeli allegations that 12 of the agency’s 13,000 employees in Gaza were involved in the Oct. 7 attack and its aftermath, a claim the United Nations said remains under internal investigation. The United Nations has fired 10 of the 12 employees accused by Israel.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres, said on Monday that Mr Guterres had accepted the report’s recommendations and called on donors to “actively support UNRWA as it is the agency A lifeline for Palestinian refugees in the region.”
Belgian Development Minister Caroline Gennez has not cut off funding to the agency, saying reports show UNRWA “always takes adequate action”.
“I call on all donors to resume their support,” she wrote on social media. “Now.”
Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin quoted by national radioRTÉ said he hoped some countries that had suspended support would now resume it.Ireland has Strongly condemns Israel’s actions He noted that in Gaza, aid to UNRWA has increased while other countries have cut aid.
“We have been very clear from the beginning that you cannot replace or diminish UNRWA’s role in providing vital aid, teaching and education,” he said.
Of the more than a dozen countries that have suspended payments over the Israeli accusations, several, including Australia, Canada and Japan, have Restoration funding UNRWA stated that, humanitarian disaster and steps the agency is taking to increase accountability.
The United States said it would wait for the outcome of the U.N. investigation before deciding whether to resume contributions to UNRWA. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Monday that the Biden administration was reviewing the U.N.-commissioned report and had not yet evaluated its conclusions.
“Of course, we welcome the Secretary-General’s acceptance of these recommendations,” Mr. Miller said, adding that the United States “has long been clear that UNRWA needs to be reformed.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for UNRWA to be closed and replaced “with a responsible international aid agency.” Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Monday called on donor countries to avoid sending money to the organization.
UNRWA argued that Israel launched a “deliberate and coordinated campaign” against it disrupt its operation When its services are needed most.
The European Union, one of UNRWA’s largest donors, announced in March: it is increasing significantly funding the agency, saying Palestinians face dire conditions and should not pay the price for Hamas’ crimes.
