United Nations’ top leaders alarmed by UNRWA funding freeze

Keystone / Ali Ali

The suspension by several countries of their funding to UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, will have "catastrophic consequences" for the Gaza Strip, warned the heads of several UN organisations.

“Withdrawing funds from UNRWA is perilous and would lead to the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza, which would have far-reaching consequences,” warned the heads of several UN agencies on Wednesday.

In the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory besieged by Israel’s army and in the grip of a major humanitarian crisis, entire neighbourhoods have been destroyed by bombardments that have forced 1.7 million of the 2.4 million inhabitants to flee their homes, according to the UN.

But UNRWA’s civilian aid operations have been under threat since last weekend after Israel accused 12 of its 30,000 regional employees of involvement in the bloody attack on October 7 carried out by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

‘Appalling’ accusations

These accusations are “appalling”, the UN chiefs said in a joint statement. “However, we must not prevent an entire organisation from fulfilling its mission to serve people in desperate need.

The signatories include Martin Griffiths (Humanitarian Coordinator), Volker Türk (High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR), Achim Steiner (United Nations Development Programme, UNDP), Cindy McCain (World Food Programme, WFP) and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (World Health Organisation, WHO).

On Tuesday, the Israeli government accused Unrwa of being “fundamentally compromised”, in particular by allowing Hamas to “use its infrastructure” to carry out its military activities and “hide terrorists”.

‘Irreplaceable’

The agency has also “massively hired terrorists” among its 13,000 employees in Gaza, government spokesman Eylon Levy said in a video. “Around 10% of employees are members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad”, the other major Islamist movement in Gaza, and “around 50% are close relatives of these members,” he added.

He offered no evidence to back up these accusations, which AFP was unable to verify. These accusations came shortly after a ruling by the International Court of Justice calling on Israel to prevent possible acts of “genocide” and to “take immediate measures” to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza.

After a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, told the press that no organisation was “capable of replacing or substituting the enormous capacity and fabric of UNRWA”. Twelve countries have announced the suspension of their aid to UNRWA, including Israel’s main supporters (the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany) as well as Japan.

‘Very bleak outlook’

“Without this funding, the prospects for UNRWA and the millions of people it helps are very bleak”, Guterres’ spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday. UNRWA has dismissed most of the employees concerned and promised an investigation. “Any employee involved in an act of terror will be held accountable,” assured Dujarric.

In Washington, US diplomats said it was all the more “important” in this context that a thorough investigation be carried out and that measures be taken “to ensure that this kind of thing does not happen again”. Israel’s ally, the United States, which is also UNRWA’s main donor, acknowledged that the agency’s work was “crucial”.

“There is no other humanitarian actor in Gaza that can provide food, water and medicine on the same scale as UNRWA,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. According to him, the United States has released “$121 million” for UNRWA since the start of the fiscal year (on October 1) and suspended the next payment of $300,000 on Friday. He added that Washington releases between “300 and 400 million dollars a year” for UNRWA.

This article was amended slightly on February 13 and March 4, 2024 to enhance clarity.

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