UNRWA announced its readiness to conduct a review of its employees to ensure that none of them participated in any attack (Anatolia)
The European Commission announced on Friday that it intends to resume funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) next week at about $54 million.
A statement by the Commission said that two second and third tranches worth $17.3 million would be issued at a later time.
The statement added, "In addition to its support for UNRWA, UNHCR remains fully committed to addressing the humanitarian plight of the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip and also more broadly in the region."
The European Commission added, "For this purpose, we will allocate an additional amount of $73.5 million during the year 2024."
She noted that "an additional $134 million has already been allocated to the Palestinians for the year 2024."
Last Wednesday, the agency confirmed a 50% decrease in humanitarian aid entering the Gaza Strip last February, compared to what was the case last January.
The agency has been experiencing a crisis since Israel accused 12 of its employees of involvement in the attack of last October 7.
Funding suspension
The agency immediately terminated the contracts of the accused employees, but soon about a dozen countries, some of which were major donors to the agency such as the United States, Germany, Britain and Sweden, announced the suspension of their funding to UNRWA.
At the end of last January, the European Union called for a review of the agency's work, and the European Commission said at the time that it would decide whether to suspend its funding depending on the results of the investigation conducted by the United Nations following the Israeli accusations.
For its part, UNRWA said that it is "ready to conduct a review of its employees to ensure that none of them participated in the attacks" and "to establish additional controls to reduce this risk in the future."
Source: Agencies