Western nations halt UNRWA funding over alleged Hamas ties
Israel claims that at least a dozen staffers from the UN agency for refugees have ties with Palestinian resistance factions
Australia, on 27 January, followed the decision made by Canada and the US to suspend funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) over allegations of staffers’ links to the 7 October resistance attack on Israeli settlements.
“The Israeli authorities have provided UNRWA with information about the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the horrific attacks on Israel on Oct. 7,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told reporters on Friday.
Lazzarini added that "to protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without delay."
Australian Senator Penny Wong says the nation is “very concerned” about the potential links of UNWRA staff to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Noting on a social media post that the “UNRWA does vital, lifesaving work. It is providing essential services in Gaza directly to those who need it, with more than 1.4 million Palestinians currently sheltering in its facilities.”
Earlier on Friday, Canada’s Internal Development Minister, Ahmed Hussen, voiced condemnation for the 7 October attack and said Ottawa has temporarily paused additional funding to the UNRWA during this investigation period, noting that Canada expects immediate action to be taken if the allegations prove true.
This came after the White House announced it would temporarily halt funds in astatement, pointing at the concerns over the agency’s “12 employees” but adding that the "UNRWA plays a critical role in providing lifesaving assistance to Palestinians, including essential food, medicine, shelter, and other vital humanitarian support. Their work has saved lives, and it is important that UNRWA address these allegations and take any appropriate corrective measures, including reviewing its existing policies and procedures.”
Similarly, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said via social media post on Saturday that Rome suspended funding UNRWA after the “atrocious attack” by Hamas. "Allied countries have recently made the same decision. We are committed to humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population, protecting Israel's security.”
Israel has criticized the human rights agency for years, voicing allegations that the Palestinian resistance has used the schools in which the UNRWA operates for “terrorist activities” and to promote an “anti-Israel curriculum.” Some officials accused the agency’s staffers of celebrating the attacks on social media.
“How symbolic is it that on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, it was exposed that UNRWA employees took part in the massacre?” Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan told a Holocaust Remembrance Day event at the United Nations. “The UN is not only weaponized to delegitimize our existence but also to physically exterminate us.”
UNRWA announced earlier this month that at least 142 members of its staff have been killed by Israel's brutal bombing campaign of the Gaza Strip.