Donor countries halt funding to UN agency in Gaza

Following Israel’s accusations that employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees participated in Hamas’s October 7 attack, a number of significant donors have said they will stop providing support to the organisation. While Israel has pledged to end UNRWA’s operations in Gaza following the conflict, the organisation has sacked many employees and promised a comprehensive probe into the allegations, which remained unspecified. Philippe Lazzarini, the chairman of UNRWA, promised to hold any employee discovered to have participated in “acts of terror” “accountable, including through criminal prosecution”. In addition to pledging an immediate independent evaluation of UNRWA, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres begged donor nations to “guarantee the continuity” of the organisation for the benefit of “the desperate populations” it serves. The United States said Friday it had suspended funding for the UN agency, a move followed by several other countries. Here is what they have said: Australia Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that while UNRWA provides “vital, life saving work”, the government would “temporarily pause disbursement of recent funding”. “We welcome UNRWA’s immediate response, including terminating contracts and launching an investigation,” she said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter. Britain The British government said it was “appalled by the allegations” made by Israel and would be “temporarily pausing any future funding” while the Foreign Office reviewed the claims. Canada Canada’s International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen announced that Ottawa had “temporarily paused any additional funding to UNRWA while it undertakes a thorough investigation into these allegations”. Finland Finland had a four-year agreement to provide five million euros ($5.4 million) annually to UNRWA. Its foreign ministry suspended its payments and called for “an independent and thorough investigation”. “We must make sure that not a single euro of Finland’s money goes to Hamas or other terrorists,” it said. France Paris said it was not planning any new funding to UNRWA after the accusations. “France has not planned a new payment for the first quarter of 2024 and will decide when the time comes of the action to take together with the United Nations and the main donors,” the foreign ministry said, calling the allegations “exceptionally serious”. Germany Germany announced that it too was suspending funding. So long as the accusations have not been cleared up, “Germany, in agreement with other donor countries,” would for now withhold approval for further resources, said a foreign ministry statement. Italy Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said it was joining the ranks of those suspending funding. It added that “we are committed to providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population while protecting Israel’s security”. Japan Japan said it was “extremely concerned” and would suspend funding while the allegations against UNRWA staff members were investigated. “At the same time, Japan will continue to make persistent and active diplomatic efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and to calm down the situation as soon as possible by providing support to other international organizations,” a foreign ministry statement said. Netherlands Dutch Minister for Trade and Development Geoffrey van Leeuwen announced a freeze in funding for UNRWA while the investigation was ongoing, saying the government was “extremely shocked”. “The accusation is that the attack was committed on October 7 with UN money, with our money,” he told public broadcaster NOS. Norway Norway said it would maintain its funding in order not to “collectively punish millions of people”. “While I share the concern over the very serious allegations concerning some UNRWA staff, I urge other donors to reflect on the wider consequences of reducing UNRWA’s funding at this time of extreme humanitarian distress,” Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a statement. Switzerland Switzerland has made annual contributions of around 20 million Swiss francs ($23 million) to the UNRWA. A foreign ministry statement said no decision would be taken on the 2024 payment until the accusations were clarified. “Switzerland has zero tolerance for all forms of support for terrorism, and for calls to hatred or incitement to violence,” it added. United States The US State Department suspended payments and welcomed the UN’s announcement of an investigation into the allegations. It called for “complete accountability for anyone who participated in the heinous attacks”. It also underlined that “UNRWA plays a critical role in providing lifesaving assistance to Palestinians, including essential food, medicine, shelter, and other vital humanitarian support”.