People walk past the damaged Gaza City headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on February 15, 2024. (AFP)
Published March 10, 2024
Israel condemns Canada and Sweden for resuming their funding to UNRWA, saying decisions to do so “after having received the intelligence-based information about [UNRWA’s] employees who participated in the 7 October massacre and prior to the completion of the work of the investigative bodies and the publication of their findings is a serious mistake that constitutes tacit agreement and support by [Ottawa and Stockholm] to ignoring the involvement of UNRWA employees in terrorist activity.”
But the statement from Israel’ Foreign Ministry appears to be part of a mixed messaging campaign, given that a senior Israeli official reached out to The Times of Israel to assertthat Jerusalem opposes dissolving UNRWA mid-war, in an apparent effort to warn countries not to permanently sever their funding.
“The return to funding UNRWA will not change the fact that the organization is part of the problem and will not be part of the solution in the Gaza Strip,” the Foreign Ministry adds.
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SOURCE: www.timesofisrael.com
RELATED: Canada, Sweden resume UNRWA funding after pause
The decision came after fierce criticism for cutting assistance during Israel’s war in Gaza.
Students walk together at a school run by UNRWA inside Mar Elias Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut (Photo/Reuters)
Published March 10, 2024
Ottawa: Amid the Israel war in Gaza, Canada has announced to resume funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) after several countries cut their aid as Israel accused dozens of the agency’s employees in Gaza of taking part in a Hamas attack on October 7, Al Jazeera reported.
In a statement on Friday, Canadian Minister of International Development Ahmed Hussen said the government is “resuming its funding to UNRWA so more can be done to respond to the urgent needs of Palestinian civilians.”
According to the report, the decision came after fierce criticism for cutting assistance during Israel’s war in Gaza.
UNRWA immediately sacked the employees in question and announced that it was opening a probe into the allegations, which it described as “shocking” and “serious”. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also appointed an independent panel to investigate.
Israel, however, did not provide concrete evidence to back up its allegations. Canadian broadcaster CBC News also reported in early February that Canada had not seen any intelligence backing the claim before it decided to cut the funding.
