European Countries Continue to Support UNRWA for Palestine

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was founded in 1949 following the creation of the State of Israel to provide healthcare, education, and other vital services to the people of Palestine.

Last month, the agency was accused by Israel of having links to the October 7 Hamas attack on southern Israel, which killed 1,139 Israelis. 

Israel, which has killed nearly 30,000 Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip since it started bombarding the impoverished enclave on October 7 last year, alleged that 12 UNRWA employees out of the body’s 13,000 workers in Gaza were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel.

More than ten donor nations, including the US, Germany, the EU, and Canada, withdrew their financial support in response to Israel's accusations. In 2022, the US, Germany, and the EU's contributions to the UNRWA were worth U$343.9 million, U$202.1 million, and U$114.2 million, respectively.

As a result of this cut-off, the agency will be completely out of money within a matter of weeks. UNRWA estimated that donor suspensions will leave it with a funding shortfall of U$440 million.

However, there are still countries that continue to support UNRWA. Ireland is the latest to pledge 20 million euros, or nearly U$21.5 million, in support of the crisis-hit agency.

“In Gaza, we are bearing witness to a humanitarian catastrophe,” said Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin on Thursday. “People are in dire need of the most basic life-saving provisions – food, water, shelter. In these most harrowing conditions, facing the prospect of further military escalation, UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian response. It urgently needs support from all UN member states.”

Several nations, including Belgium, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Turkiye, have already decided to keep funding UNRWA.

On February 1, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister, Petra De Sutter, whose country contributed U$12.6 million to UNRWA, wrote on X: “Belgium will continue to fund UNRWA. The agency is irreplaceable in providing urgent and crucial humanitarian relief within Gaza.”

Speaking at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country funds the UN agency to the tune of U$25.2 million in 2022, said: “It hurts us to see the attacks against the staff of the UN Palestinian agency and we must extend our support.”

Leo Varadkar, the prime minister of Ireland, expressed the sentiments of his government on Israel's attack on Gaza the day before the UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini secured the funding from the Irish government.

“It’s very, very clear to me … that Israel is not listening to any country in the world, I don’t even think they’re listening to the Americans anymore,” he told the Irish parliament on Tuesday. “They have become blinded by rage.”

AL JAZEERA

Editor's Choice: 4 European Countries Continue Funding to UNRWA

Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News