Several countries, including the United States and Britain, stopped funding UNRWA after accusations from Israel against the agency (Reuters)

Sweden announced on Saturday that it will resume suspended payments to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) with a grant of 200 million kroner ($20 million), joining Canada, which announced the return of its support for the UN agency.

The Swedish government said it resumed funding after UNRWA agreed to strengthen internal controls and conduct additional checks on its employees, among other measures.

Stockholm stated in a statement that it "allocated 400 million kroner to UNRWA for the year 2024 ($40 million)."

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, assigned an independent group headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna to evaluate UNRWA and its political “neutrality.”

The Swedish announcement came after the European Commission announced at the beginning of this month that it would disburse 50 million euros (about 54 million dollars) to support UNRWA before potentially releasing an additional 32 million euros (35 million dollars).

Canada lifts its funding suspension

In the same context, Canadian International Aid Minister Ahmed Hussein announced that Ottawa would resume funding the agency.

The minister added in a statement that Canada will lift the temporary suspension of funding for UNRWA, without mentioning a specific time frame for that, stressing that UNRWA plays a vital role in the Gaza Strip.

Ahmed Hussein indicated that his country reviewed the interim report of the United Nations investigation into Israeli allegations that 12 UNRWA employees participated in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” attacks and is looking forward to the final version.

Canada announced the cessation of funding in January after Israeli accusations against UNRWA, for which Tel Aviv did not provide any evidence.

Several countries, including the United States and Britain, suspended their funding to UNRWA after accusations from Israel that 12 of the agency's 13,000 employees in Gaza participated in the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) attack on Israel on October 7.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies + Israeli press