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<h1>Palestinians slam suspension of UNRWA funding by some Western nations</h1><p class="gmail-article__subhead gmail-css-1wt8oh6"><em>Italy, Australia, US, UK halt support after Israel accused UNRWA staff of involvement in Hamas’s October 7 attacks.</em></p><div class="gmail-responsive-image"><img src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/344E96D-highres-1701929774.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80" alt="A truck carrying humanitarian aid from the UNRWA arrives at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip" width="416" height="277" style="margin-right: 25px;"></div>A
truck carrying humanitarian aid from UNRWA arrives at the Egyptian side
of the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip [File: Khaled
Desouki/AFP]<div class="gmail-article-info-block gmail-css-ti04u9"><div class="gmail-article-b-l" style="border-color:rgb(250,144,0)"><div class="gmail-article-dates" style="border-color:rgb(250,144,0)"><div class="gmail-date-simple gmail-css-1yjq2zp"><span class="gmail-screen-reader-text">Published On 27 Jan 2024 - </span><font size="1"><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/27/palestinians-slam-suspension-of-unrwa-funding-by-some-western-nations">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/27/palestinians-slam-suspension-of-unrwa-funding-by-some-western-nations</a></font><span aria-hidden="true"></span></div></div></div><div class="gmail-social-share-buttons"><div class="gmail-update-reading-list"></div></div></div><div class="gmail-update-reading-list"><span class="gmail-update-reading-list__tooltip" role="tooltip"></span></div><a class="gmail-social-share-button" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share on Facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Faje.io%2F1fi8jr"></a><a class="gmail-social-share-button" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Palestinians%20slam%20suspension%20of%20UNRWA%20funding%20by%20some%20Western%20nations&source=sharethiscom&related=sharethis&via=AJEnglish&url=https%3A%2F%2Faje.io%2F1fi8jr"></a><a class="gmail-social-share-button gmail-copylink" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="copy link" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/27/https://aje.io/1fi8jr"><span class="gmail-copylink__tooltip gmail-copylink__tooltip-hidden"></span></a><p>Top
Palestinian officials and Hamas have criticised the decision by some
Western countries to suspend funding to the United Nations relief agency
for Palestinians and called for an immediate reversal of the move that
entails “great” risk.</p>
<p>The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near
East (UNRWA) earlier said it had opened an investigation into some
employees that Israel alleges were involved in the October 7 attacks
that triggered the current conflict.</p>
<p>On Saturday, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
Secretary-General Hussein al-Sheikh said the countries’ decision
“entails great political and humanitarian relief risks”.</p>
<p>“At this particular time and in light of the continuing aggression
against the Palestinian people, we need the maximum support for this
international organization and not stopping support and assistance to
it,” he wrote on X, urging the countries to “immediately reverse their
decision”.</p>
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<p></p>
<p>Italy, Australia, Canada and the United States said they would halt
funding to the agency, while European Union foreign policy chief Josep
Borrell said the 27-member bloc would “assess further steps and draw
lessons based on the result of the full and comprehensive
investigation”.</p>
<p>The United Kingdom and Finland also joined the growing list of
countries to pause financial aid to the UN agency, whose facilities
where displaced Palestinians sought shelter have been repeatedly
attacked in Israeli air raids.</p>
<p>Hamas on Saturday slammed Israeli “threats” against the agency, after Israel <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/26/unrwa-probes-employees-over-suspected-involvement-in-october-7-attacks">accused</a>
several UNRWA staff of involvement in Hamas’s October 7 attacks in
southern Israel that the authorities there have said killed about 1,140
people.</p><p>“We ask the UN and the international organisations to not cave in to
the threats and blackmail” from Israel, Hamas’s press office said in a
post on Telegram.</p>
<p>On Friday, UNRWA said it had fired several employees and that it had opened an investigation into the allegations.</p>
<p>“The Israeli authorities have provided UNRWA with information about
the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the horrific
attacks on Israel on October 7,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General
Philippe Lazzarini.</p>
<p>“To protect the agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I
have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these
staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the
truth without delay.”</p>
<p>UNRWA was founded in the wake of the creation of the state of Israel
in 1948 to provide hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees who
were forcibly displaced with education, healthcare, social services and
jobs. It started operations in 1950.</p>
<p>The cash-strapped agency today supports nearly six million
Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, as well as in neighbouring
Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.</p>
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<h2 id="gmail-aid-freeze">Aid freeze</h2>
<p>The UK on Saturday said it had joined the US in “temporarily pausing”
future financial aid for UNRWA, which is funded almost entirely by
voluntary contributions from UN member countries.</p>
<p>“The UK is appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in
the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the
UK Government has repeatedly condemned,” the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office said in a statement.</p>
<p>Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Saturday that his
country was joining its allies and cutting its support for the agency.</p>
<p>“Allied countries have taken a similar decision. We are committed to
providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population while
protecting Israel’s security,” he posted on X.</p>
<p>Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was “deeply concerned” by the allegations against UNRWA.</p>
<p>“We are speaking with partners and will temporarily pause disbursement of recent funding,” she wrote on X.</p>
<p>“We welcome UNRWA’s immediate response, including terminating
contracts and launching an investigation, as well as its recent
announcement of a full investigation into allegations against the
organization,” she added.</p>
<p>Israel praised the countries for halting their support to the UN
agency, saying it wants to completely stop its operations after the war
on Gaza has ended.</p>
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<p>Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Israel “aims to promoting a policy
ensuring that UNRWA will not be a part of the day after, addressing
other contributing factors”.</p>
<p>“We will work to garner bipartisan support in the US, the European
Union, and other nations globally for this policy aimed at halting
UNRWA’s activities in Gaza,” he said.</p>
<p> </p>
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<h2 id="gmail-independent-investigation">Independent investigation</h2>
<p>Canada’s International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen on Friday
announced that Ottawa had “temporarily paused any additional funding to
UNRWA while it undertakes a thorough investigation into these
allegations”.</p>
<p>“Canada is taking these reports extremely seriously and is engaging
closely with UNRWA and other donors on this issue,” he wrote on X.</p>
<p>“Should the allegations prove to be accurate, Canada expects UNRWA to
immediately act against those determined to have been involved in
Hamas’s terrorist attacks.”</p>
<p>The US halted funding to UNRWA on Friday because of the allegations
against 12 employees who “may have been involved” in the Hamas attack.</p>
<p>Lazzarini did not disclose the number of employees nor the nature of
their alleged involvement, but said “any UNRWA employee who was involved
in acts of terror” would be held accountable, including through
criminal prosecution.</p>
<p>UN chief Antonio Guterres has pledged to conduct an “urgent and comprehensive independent review of UNRWA”.</p>
<p>At least 26,257 people have been killed and 64,797 wounded in <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/1/27/israels-war-on-gaza-live-hospital-blackout-amid-khan-younis-assault">Israeli attacks</a> on Gaza since October 7.</p>
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