The noose around the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is tightening. After the United States on Friday, it is now the turn of Italy, Australia and Canada to announce on Saturday January 27 the suspension of their funding of the institution. These statements come after Israel's allegations that UNRWA staff may have been involved in the bloody Hamas attack on October 7th.
On Saturday, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was “deeply concerned” about the allegations against UNRWA. “We are talking to our partners and will temporarily suspend the disbursement of the latest funding,” she wrote on the UNRWA social network after the horrific Hamas attack on Israel on October 7th.
“We are committed to providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population while protecting Israel’s security,” he assured. Traveling to Milan on this Holocaust Remembrance Day, Mr. Tajani assessed that “anti-Semitism and Hamas are the new SS, the new Gestapo, because the hunt for Jews was carried out in a scientific manner.” He also called for “the rights of the… to respect the Palestinian civilian population.” For its part, London announced on Saturday afternoon that it was “temporarily” suspending its aid to UNRWA, saying it was “dismayed” by the allegations against the UN agency.
For his part, the head of Israeli diplomacy, Israel Katz, reiterated on Saturday that Israel intends to “ensure that UNRWA will not be part of the solution in Gaza after the war between Israel and Hamas,” hoping “to stop all Hamas activities to set”. Agency.
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The day before, on Friday, the United States, UNRWA's main payer, announced that it was “temporarily” suspending all additional funding to the UN agency. In a statement, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States was “extremely concerned by allegations that twelve UNRWA employees may have been involved in the attack.” American diplomacy chief Antony Blinken spoke United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “underline the need for a rapid and thorough investigation into this matter.”
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Attacks on UNRWA shelters
In light of these allegations, UNRWA management announced on Friday that it had separated several staff members accused of involvement in the October 7 Hamas attack. “In order to protect the agency's ability to provide humanitarian assistance, I have decided to immediately terminate the contracts of these employees and open an investigation,” said the head of the agency, Philippe Lazzarini, for whom “every employee was involved” in terrorist attacks must answer for themselves, including in court proceedings.”
Hamas, for its part, called in a statement “on the United Nations and international organizations not to give in to Israel's threats and blackmail” and accused Israel of wanting to “cut off resources and withdraw all international aid” from the people of Gaza. . For the Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Hussein Al-Sheick, UNRWA needs “maximum support” and “not that support and assistance be stopped.” “We call on the countries that have announced the termination of their support to UNRWA to immediately reverse their decision, which poses serious risks,” responded Mr. Al-Sheikh, also with regard to humanitarian assistance.
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These allegations come amid a tense context between UNRWA and Israel. The UN agency accused two Israeli tanks of firing on one of its training centers in Khan Younes, southern Gaza, on Wednesday. Since the start of the war, it has been converted into an emergency shelter and houses tens of thousands of displaced people. According to the agency, thirteen people were killed and more than fifty-six were injured in these attacks, including twenty-one in critical condition.
Mr. Lazzarini denounced a “flagrant violation of the basic rules of war.” The Israeli army, for its part, announced a “thorough review” of its operations in the affected area, without ruling out the possibility of a Hamas attack. However, the Israeli army is the only force in the Gaza Strip that deploys tanks.