Despite accusations of massacre: UN Palestine Relief Agency should continue receiving millions

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At the special EU summit in Brussels, Josep Borrell (76), EU foreign policy chief, urgently warned against ending funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).

The Spaniard said on Thursday that the investigation into the alleged involvement of UNRWA employees in the terrorist attack on Israel must be carried out. But no collective punishment should be imposed on the Palestinian people. “UNRWA must not stop its work, otherwise hundreds of thousands of people will die,” Borrell said. There is no alternative to aid organizations.

Assessment by independent experts required

Due to the allegations against UNRWA employees, several countries recently announced a temporary halt to payments to the UN aid agency, including the two largest donors, the US and Germany. However, it is still unclear how the EU will position itself in general.

The European Commission announced at the beginning of this week that no additional EU funds are planned until the end of February. Further financing decisions will be taken against the backdrop of the very serious allegations. The investigation announced by the United Nations and the resulting measures are particularly relevant. The EU also requires that the aid organization agree to an audit by independent experts appointed by the EU.

400 million euros are available annually

According to its own statements, the European Union is one of the largest donors of humanitarian and development aid to the Palestinians in Gaza and the largest donor to the aid agency. According to figures from last June, the EU and its member states provide 400 million euros annually to UNRWA, equivalent to 40 percent of the aid agency’s annual budget.

The allegations against the UN aid organization are that several employees were involved in the major attack on Israel by the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas on October 7. The New York Times recently reported previously unknown details about the alleged involvement. An UNRWA employee is said to have been involved, among other things, in the kidnapping of a woman from Israel. Another distributed ammunition, and a third was involved in a kibbutz massacre that killed 97 people, the newspaper reported on Sunday (local time), citing a corresponding Israeli dossier available to the US government.

“Funds from countries around the world were channeled through UNRWA”

Israeli Defense Minister Joav Galant has made serious accusations against UNRWA employees in connection with the allegations. “Funds from countries around the world were channeled through UNRWA and used to strengthen terrorist infrastructure and pay terrorists,” Galant told a UN delegation on Thursday.

The organization has lost the legitimacy to continue to exist in its current form. UNRWA is “Hamas with a facelift”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday about UNRWA that it had been completely infiltrated by Hamas. (SDA)

Source: Blick