EU Urges Donors to Fund UNRWA Amidst Ongoing Allegations of Neutrality Issues and Lack of Israeli Evidence on Terrorist Employees
The EU's humanitarian chief, Janez Lenarcic, called on international donors to continue funding the UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, after a review found no concrete evidence that hundreds of its staff were members of terrorist groups as claimed by Israel.
The review, led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, acknowledged some neutrality-related issues but noted that Israel had not provided sufficient evidence to support its claims.
Lenarcic urged donors to support UNRWA, which is a crucial source of aid for Palestinian refugees.
A UNRWA review group was established in response to Israel's accusations that some of its staff may have been involved in Hamas attacks in October 2023.
This led to the suspension or pausing of over $450 million in funding from various donor states.
Some countries, including Sweden, Canada, Japan, the EU, and France, have resumed funding, while others, including the US and Britain, have not.
The US Congress passed a law blocking UNRWA funding from the US until March 2025.
The aid agency's freeze comes as Israeli military operations have made Gaza a "humanitarian hellscape," with its 2.3 million residents in urgent need of food, water, shelter, and medicine.
The review group, led by Colonna, is assessing UNRWA's efforts to ensure neutrality, while Guterres initiated a second investigation into Israel's allegations.
A report found that while the UN Refugee Agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) has a strong neutrality framework, issues persist, such as biased social media posts by staff and problematic textbooks in some schools.
Israel claims UNRWA employs over 400 "terrorists," but no evidence has been provided.
UNRWA, which began in 1950 and serves nearly six million people in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Gaza Strip, and West Bank, including East Jerusalem.