The Palestinian Authority accuses Israel of launching a campaign to liquidate UNRWA (Reuters)

An increasing number of donor countries have decided to suspend their funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the wake of Israel accusing employees of the United Nations agency of involvement in the Al-Aqsa Flood operation launched by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) against Israel on October 7.

Following the allegations made by Israel against UNRWA, the United States was quick last Friday to suspend any funding for the UN organization, followed by Canada, Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Japan.

While the United Nations agency decided to terminate the contracts of 12 of its employees, the Palestinian Authority affirmed the day before Saturday that UNRWA needs “support” and not “stopping support and aid,” and accused Israel of launching an incitement campaign “aimed at liquidating the agency.”

On the other hand, Switzerland waited to obtain more information before making a decision regarding its assistance to UNRWA, and Norway announced yesterday, Sunday, that it would continue to fund the agency despite doubts about the involvement of some of its employees in the Hamas attack on Israel, and thus the positions of those countries were proven.

United States

: US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement, “The United States is deeply concerned about allegations that 12 UNRWA employees may be involved in the terrorist attack launched by Hamas on Israel.”

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."

Canada:

Canadian Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussein said last Friday that “Canada has temporarily suspended any additional funding for UNRWA while it conducts an in-depth investigation into these accusations.”

“Canada takes these accusations very seriously and is closely engaging with UNRWA and other donors on this issue,” Hussein wrote on the X platform, explaining that Ottawa is “very concerned” about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Australia:

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong expressed “deep concern” about the accusations against UNRWA, saying on the X platform, “We are communicating with our partners and will temporarily suspend the payment of funds.”

She added, "We applaud UNRWA's immediate response, including terminating contracts with employees, as well as announcing an investigation into the accusations against the organization."

The Minister stressed the impact of UNRWA's "vital work" on the residents of Gaza and "the more than 1.4 million Palestinians it shelters in its facilities."

Italy

: Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Taiani wrote on the X platform, “The Italian government suspended funding for UNRWA after the horrific Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.”

Tayani said the day before Saturday, Holocaust Remembrance Day, “Antisemitism and Hamas are the Nazi SS and the new Gestapo, because the persecution of Jews was carried out in a systematic manner.”

United Kingdom

: The British Foreign Office expressed “dismay at allegations of the involvement of UNRWA staff in the October 7 attack on Israel,” stressing that aid will be suspended while “we review these disturbing allegations.”

Finland

: The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs considered the accusations against UNRWA employees “serious,” and called on Saturday for an “independent and comprehensive investigation.”

Finnish Foreign Trade and Development Minister Phil Tavio said, "We have to make sure that not a single euro of Finland's money reaches Hamas or other terrorists. Suspicion of the involvement of employees of an organization receiving humanitarian aid in a terrorist attack is the reason for suspending payments."

Netherlands:

Dutch Trade and Development Minister Geoffrey van Leeuwen announced a freeze in funding for UNRWA while an investigation is conducted, expressing the government's feeling of "severe shock."

“The accusation is that the attack was carried out on October 7 with UN money, with our money,” he told the official NOS radio on Saturday.

Germany

: The German Foreign and Development Ministries announced yesterday evening, Saturday, that as long as the accusation is not clarified, “Germany, in agreement with other donor countries, will refrain for the time being from agreeing to provide more resources.”

The two ministries indicated that “at the present time there are no outstanding obligations.”

France

: The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, Sunday, “France does not intend to disburse a new payment for the first quarter of 2024, and will decide when the time comes for the measures that must be taken in cooperation with the United Nations and major donors by ensuring that all requirements for aid transparency and security are taken into account.”

The French Foreign Ministry considered the accusations against the employees “extremely serious,” adding that it wanted to wait “until the investigations that began in recent days fully clarify the facts.”

Japan

: Japan announced yesterday evening, Sunday, that it would suspend funding for UNRWA due to Israeli accusations regarding the involvement of some of its employees in the Hamas attack.

“In response, Japan has decided to suspend all additional funding to UNRWA for now while UNRWA conducts an investigation into the matter,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement added, "At the same time, Japan will continue to make diligent and active diplomatic efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and calm the situation as soon as possible by providing support to other international organizations."

Switzerland:

Switzerland - whose contributions to UNRWA amounted to about 20 million Swiss francs ($23 million) in recent years - announced that it has not yet taken a decision regarding approval to provide funding for the year 2024 until the accusations are decided.

She added, "No decision will be made on this payment until we obtain more information regarding the serious accusations against UNRWA employees."

She said that she "absolutely does not tolerate all forms of support for terrorism, calls for hatred, or incitement to violence," stressing that she "expects immediate action to be taken in the face of credible accusations."

Source: French