Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
28-01-2024
LONDON: The UK has become the latest country to pause funding for the UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA.
It comes after the agency announced the sacking of several of its staff over allegations of involvement in the 7 October Hamas attacks.
The UK government said it was “appalled” by the allegations made by Israel.
The US, Australia, Italy and Canada have already suspended additional funding to the UN agency.
Created in 1949, UNRWA provides health care, education and other humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Since Israel began its ground offensive in October, UNRWA has used its facilities across Gaza to shelter hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians.
It says it has ordered an investigation into information supplied by Israel.
On Friday, an adviser to the Israeli prime minister told media that the 7 October Hamas attacks had involved “people who are on their (UNRWA) salaries”.
Mark Regev said 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.
The allegations prompted reaction from major donors.
“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 UK Foreign Office said in a statement.
“The UK is temporarily pausing any future funding of UNWRA whilst we review these concerning allegations,” it added.
But the Palestinian Authority’s minister for civilian affairs, Hussein Al-Sheikh, said the decision by some countries to pause support for the vital UN agency “entails great political and humanitarian relief risks”.
Al-Sheikh urged Western donors to immediately reverse their decision, adding: “We need the maximum support for this international organization.”
In a post on Telegram, Hamas’s press office said the group urged the UN and the international organizations “to not cave in to the threats and blackmail” from Israel.
Hamas killed 1,300 people, mostly civilians, in the unprecedented attack on southern Israeli communities on 7 October last year.
Another 250 people were taken hostage. The events triggered Israel’s retaliatory attacks on Hamas in Gaza, which have killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. (Int’l News Desk)
