Updated Monday, January 29, 2024-11:31

  • War in Gaza US suspends aid to UN Palestinian refugee agency after 12 employees accused of collaborating with Hamas

Spain will maintain its aid to the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, although it will follow

"very closely"

the investigation into the accusation that 12 workers collaborated with

Hamas

at the time of the attack on Israel on October 7. The national executive thus distances itself from the United States and 20 other countries that have decided to end aid to this agency linked to the United Nations after this discovery.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, announced the Spanish position during his appearance at the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Congress of Deputies. "

We will not modify our relationship

with UNRWA but we will follow the investigation very closely," Albares stated.

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War in Gaza.

US suspends aid to UN Palestinian refugee agency after 12 employees accused of collaborating with Hamas

  • Editor: PABLO PARDO (Correspondent)Washington

US suspends aid to UN Palestinian refugee agency after 12 employees accused of collaborating with Hamas

Since this alleged collaboration became known, the UN has investigated the complaints but its Secretary General,

Antonio Guterres

, has asked the international community

not to suspend its support

for the agency, since "the alleged horrendous acts of these employees must have consequences." , but there are also "tens of thousands of people (about 30,000)" who work for that agency and who should not be penalized.

Since the accusations became known, numerous countries have frozen their contributions to the operation of UNRWA until

the situation is clarified,

in addition to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Finland, Germany and Japan have suspended collaboration.

Joe Biden had

resumed

financial contributions to UNRWA in

April 2021

, after his predecessor, Donald Trump, suspended them in September 2018. Apparently, the people involved were local contractors, that is, they

were not part of the UN staff.

, which would have been much more serious. The information was obtained by Israel during

interrogations of Hamas militants

captured in the war.