Capitals (Union, Agencies)
Yesterday, the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain, Italy and Finland decided to suspend the funding they provide to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), against the backdrop of allegations that employees of the agency participated in the attack on southern Israel on the seventh of last October.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates criticized these measures taken by some countries before the completion of the United Nations investigations, and demanded that they immediately withdraw them, in line with the law and legal procedures followed.
The Ministry denounced what it described as “the systematic campaign of incitement practiced by the Israeli government, which seeks by all means to stop the work of UNRWA and to erase the refugee issue.”
UNRWA, which was established to help refugees from the 1948 war, provides educational and health services and assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. UNRWA also helps about two-thirds of the Gaza Strip's population of 2.3 million people, and plays a pivotal role in providing aid during the ongoing war.
The United States, Australia and Canada have already suspended funding for UNRWA, after Israel claimed that 12 employees of the agency participated in the October 7 attack.
UNRWA opened an investigation into several employees after dismissing them from work.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry criticized what it described as an Israeli campaign against UNRWA. The British Foreign Office said that it would temporarily suspend funding for UNRWA until the allegations were examined.
Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein Al-Sheikh, confirmed that the decision to stop funding UNRWA: “involves great political and relief risks.”
He said in a post on “X”: “We call on the countries that announced the cessation of their support for UNRWA to immediately reverse their decision.”
For its part, Switzerland announced yesterday that it would not take a decision on paying the expected aid to UNRWA until the “serious accusations” directed against a number of its employees are clarified. The Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it is “deeply concerned” about these allegations.
According to the ministry, the country's annual contribution to UNRWA, which amounted to about 20 million Swiss francs ($23 million) in recent years, has not yet been approved for 2024.
She added: “No decision will be made regarding this payment until we obtain more information about the serious accusations against UNRWA employees.”
Last month, during the general budget discussions, the Swiss House of Representatives attempted to strip UNRWA of its annual funding, while the Senate opposed this step.
Parliament eventually reached a compromise to cut 10 million francs from the overall humanitarian funding budget, without specifying where the money should be made available. He stressed that all contributions to humanitarian aid provided to the Middle East will be paid in installments and after consultation with the parliamentary foreign policy committees.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that “these consultations have not yet taken place.”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pledged to conduct an “independent, urgent and comprehensive review of UNRWA,” according to what his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
While the US State Department referred to the “critical role” of UNRWA in helping the Palestinians, it stressed the importance of the United Nations agency “responding to these accusations and taking any appropriate corrective action.” There are about 5.9 million Palestinians registered with UNRWA, and they can benefit from its services, which include education, health care, social services, camp infrastructure, microfinance, and emergency aid, including during periods of armed conflict.
There are a total of 58 refugee camps recognized by the UN agency, including 19 camps in the West Bank. More than 540,000 children study in UNRWA schools.
The humanitarian situation was critical in the Gaza Strip, before the start of the Israeli war on October 7.
According to United Nations data issued last August, 63 percent of the Gaza Strip’s population suffer from food insecurity and depend on international aid. More than 80 percent of the population lives below the poverty line. The Palestinian Strip includes eight camps and about 1.7 million displaced people, i.e. the overwhelming majority of the population, according to the United Nations. The total population of Gaza is about 2.4 million people.
Of the agency's 30,000 employees, 13,000 people work in the Gaza Strip, distributed among more than 300 facilities located on an area of 365 square kilometers, according to the organization's website.
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