France, Japan suspend funding to UNRWA

France and Japan announced yesterday the suspension of their funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) following claims by Israel, on Friday, that twelve agency staffers were involved in the Hamas attack on 7 October.

France revealed that it has not scheduled a new payment for the first half of 2024, emphasising the need to assess the situation jointly with the United Nations and other major donors before deciding on further action.

The French Foreign Ministry labelled the accusations against UNRWA as “exceptionally serious”.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said the country had decided to suspend additional funding to the Agency for now, was “extremely concerned about the alleged involvement of UNRWA staff members in the terror attack on Israel”, and has been “strongly urging UNRWA to conduct the investigation in a prompt and complete manner.”

It comes after several Western countries, notably the US, UK, Italy, Australia and Canada, have suspended funding for the UN agency, which the Palestinian Authority Presidency has categorically rejected and condemned as an “oppressive” campaign led by the Israeli government.

Moreover, the Jordanian Foreign Minister, Ayman Safadi, in response wrote in a post on X: “UNRWA is the lifeline for over 2m Palestinians facing starvation in Gaza. It shouldn’t be collectively punished upon allegations against 12 persons out of its 13,000 staff.”

UNRWA is the lifeline for over 2m Palestinians facing starvation in Gaza. It should’t be collectively punished upon allegations against 12 persons out of its 13000 staff. UNRWA acted responsibly & began an investigation. We urge countries that suspended funds to reverse decision.

— Ayman Safadi (@AymanHsafadi) January 28, 2024

He added, “UNRWA acted responsibly and began an investigation. We urge countries that suspended funds to reverse [their] decision.”

On Friday, UNRWA announced that it had opened a probe into the alleged involvement of several of its employees in the 7 October infiltration into Israel by Resistance fighters from Gaza, and that it had severed ties with them.

The agency employs a total of 30,000 people, and Israel’s allegation has not been proven. Nevertheless, UNRWA said that it has terminated the contracts of several employees following the allegation.

Since the start of the Gaza war, Israel has accused UNRWA employees of working for Hamas, in what was considered as “justification” for attacking the organisation’s schools and facilities in the Strip, which houses tens of thousands of displaced people.

Indeed, Israel has repeatedly equated UNRWA staff with Hamas members in efforts to discredit them, providing no proof of the claims, while lobbying hard to have UNRWA closed as it is the only UN agency to have a specific mandate to look after the basic needs of Palestinian refugees.

If the agency no longer exists, argues Israel, then the refugee issue must no longer exist, and the legitimate right for Palestinian refugees to return to their land will be unnecessary. Israel has denied that right of return since the late 1940s, even though its own membership of the UN was made conditional upon Palestinian refugees being allowed to return to their homes and land.

The Israeli allegation came as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday declared that South Africa’s claim that Israel is committing genocide is plausible. The Court issued an interim order urging Israel to stop obstructing aid deliveries into Gaza and to improve the humanitarian situation.

Flouting the ICJ’s provisional ruling, Israel has continued its onslaught on the Gaza Strip, where at least 26,422 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 65,087 others have been wounded since 7 October. According to Israel, 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas incursion, although Israeli helicopters and tanks are believed to have killed “hundreds” of those claimed to have been killed by Hamas.

The Israeli offensive has left 85 per cent of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60 per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

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