Israeli soldiers next to the UNRWA headquarters in the Gaza Strip (Reuters)

A group of more than 50 UK MPs from across the country's parties is putting pressure on British Foreign Secretary David Cameron to restore funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

In a letter they addressed to Cameron, the MPs called on the British government to resume funding the agency without delay. They also demanded an explanation of the reasons that led the United Kingdom to issue a decision to suspend its funding.

The United Kingdom and many Western countries suspended their funding to UNRWA after Israeli allegations accused employees of the UN agency of involvement in the attack launched by the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip on Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip on October 7th.

The letter, which was signed by dozens of representatives from various political parties in the Kingdom, said: “By restoring funding to UNRWA, the United Kingdom can demonstrate its commitment to supporting human rights, enhancing stability in the region, and promoting a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

Among the signatories of the letter, which was sent by British Member of Parliament Brandan O'Hara, Foreign Affairs Spokesman for the Scottish National Party, Conservative MP Flick Drummond, former Shadow Minister of the Labor Party Richard Burgon, the Bishop of Southwark, and former diplomat David Hannay.

Britain is awaiting the results of the investigations

The British government said that it has no money owed to UNRWA until the end of next April, and that it is awaiting the results of the review related to the agency carried out by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. It is also awaiting the results of the United Nations investigation into Israeli allegations regarding the involvement of individuals from the agency in the seventh attack. From last October against Israel.

Last week, a United Nations spokeswoman said that the independent committee responsible for assessing UNRWA’s neutrality issued an interim report in which it identified “critical areas” that should be addressed. The committee is expected to issue its final report by April 20.

It is noteworthy that UNRWA has been suffering from a deep crisis since Israel accused about 10 of the relief agency’s 13,000 employees working in the Gaza Strip of “involvement in the attack launched by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) against Israel last October.”

The Israeli accusation prompted a number of donor countries, led by the United States, to suspend their funding to UNRWA, which represented a threat to the agency’s efforts to deliver necessary aid to Gaza, as the United Nations warns of an imminent famine.

Following the Israeli accusations, the United Nations launched an internal and independent investigation, noting that Israel did not provide UNRWA with any evidence to support its allegations that a number of its employees were involved in the attack.

The Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, accused Israel of seeking to destroy the international agency, and warned last month that the funding crisis in UNRWA is so great that the agency may not be able to continue its activities after this March.

But he said this week that the agency now has enough “funding until the end of next May,” after several countries resumed their funding of the agency, including Spain, Canada, Australia, and Finland.

UNRWA plays an important role in providing relief to the residents of Gaza, especially in light of the devastating war and the stifling siege imposed on the Strip for about 6 months.

The United Nations agency was established by a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in 1949, and was charged with providing assistance and protection to refugees in 5 regions: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Its work aims to reach a just solution to the refugee tragedy.

Today, UNRWA directly employs 30,000 Palestinians, and provides the civil and humanitarian needs of about 5.9 million refugee children in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and in large camps in neighboring Arab countries.

Source: Al Jazeera + German