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UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini
Photo: Ludovic Marin / AFP
Germany does not want to approve any new funds for the organization for the time being because of the alleged involvement of some employees of the UN Palestinian relief organization UNRWA in the Hamas massacre in Israel. "Until the clarification is complete, Germany, in coordination with other donor countries, will temporarily not approve any new funds for UNRWA in Gaza," the Foreign Office and the Development Ministry announced on Saturday evening in Berlin. In any case, there are currently no new commitments pending, it said. The USA, Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Italy and Finland had previously announced a stop to payments to the UN aid agency.
In their statement, the two German ministries emphasized that humanitarian aid for the Palestinians was continuing. A few days ago, funding for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN children's fund Unicef was increased by seven million euros. UNRWA is vital for the basic services of the Palestinian population. It is “absolutely right” that UNRWA acted immediately in light of the allegations against employees and that Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini “took immediate action.”
Lazzarini sees humanitarian aid in the region under threat
Since October 7, humanitarian aid provided through UNRWA has financed basic supplies such as water, food, emergency shelter, hygiene and sanitation as well as medical supplies for the people in the Gaza Strip and in particular for the families who have fled to the south of the region. According to its own information, the federal government supported the UN relief organization UNRWA with more than 200 million euros in 2023 alone.
Meanwhile, UNRWA head Lazzarini asked countries that have suspended funding to reconsider their course. "These decisions threaten our ongoing humanitarian work throughout the region, including and especially in the Gaza Strip."
Israel had provided the aid organization with information that twelve of the organization's several thousand employees in the Gaza Strip were said to have been involved in the bloodbath. They were immediately released. Lazzarini and UN Secretary-General António Guterres were horrified and threatened those affected with criminal consequences. In the October 7 attacks, terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian groups murdered more than 1,200 people in Israel. Israel responded with massive air strikes and a ground offensive. According to Palestinian figures, more than 26,000 people were killed as a result.
ktz/dpa/Reuters