UNRWA: Bond UK urges government to continue funding for Palestinian refugees

Following news that the UK and 12 other states have suspended funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the UK NGO network Bond has urged the British government to ensure that humanitarian assistance can continue to be funded and delivered through the UN agency in Gaza and refugee camps in the occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Bond CEO Romilly Greenhill added that the network welcomes the steps taken by UNRWA to investigate the alleged involvement of some members of staff in the “tragic 7 October attacks” in southern Israel.

UNRWA, the organisation pointed out, is the main provider of humanitarian assistance to millions of displaced Palestinians already in desperate need and at risk of famine, as well as millions of people across the Middle East. “No other local or international organisation has the same level of reach or can provide the same level of support, which means that withdrawing funding risks the collective punishment of large swathes of people by removing a vital source of lifesaving essentials such as food, vaccinations and fresh water.”

READ: UNRWA funding cuts threaten Palestinian lives across the region, say NGOs

Bond unites and supports a diverse network of over 350 civil society organisations from across the UK, and allies to help eradicate global poverty, inequality and injustice. Many of Bond’s member organisations are working actively in, or have recently worked in some form in Gaza providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians.

The allegations against twelve UNRWA officials — the agency has 30,000 staff altogether — came on the same day that the International Court of Justice ruled against Israel in the genocide case lodged at the court by the government of South Africa. Israel has repeatedly equated UNRWA staff with Hamas members in efforts to discredit them and the agency. No evidence has been provided to support the allegations.

Moreover, the occupation state has been 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.

Noga Arbell, a former Israeli foreign ministry official, said in early January that, “It will be impossible to win the war if we do not destroy UNRWA, this destruction must begin immediately.”

It is clear, say observers, that there is a political agenda behind the moves by Israel’s allies to stop funding UNRWA on the basis of unfounded allegations.

READ: Palestinians in Gaza see UNRWA funding cuts as ‘death sentence’