The United Kingdom, Italy, Finland, Canada, and Australia have all announced that they will suspend funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) over allegations that staff actively participated in the October 7th Hamas terror attacks on Israel.
On Friday, UNWRA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini that his agency has fired several staff members after receiving Israeli intelligence claiming that at least 12 UNWRA staff members participated in the Hamas terror attacks on Israel that saw the Palestinian Islamists butcher around 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and kidnap over 250 more, some of whom remain in captivity to this day.
Following the revelations from Lazzarini, the Biden administration announced that it would suspend its funding towards the organisation.
In 2018, former President Donald Trump cut off funding entirely to the agency — which operates in Gaza, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria — over evidence suggesting that schools run by UNRWA were indoctrinating Palestinian schoolchildren with anti-Jewish propaganda and staff members supporting terrorism. Yet, Biden’s White House reversed this decision and sent upwards of $700 million to the agency before suspending money on Friday.
On Saturday, several other Western nations announced that they would also halt funding to the U.N. agency. The British Foreign Office said in a statement per the BBC: “The UK is appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned.
“The UK is temporarily pausing any future funding of UNWRA whilst we review these concerning allegations.”
London’s announcement comes after similar decisions from Australia, Canada, Finland, and Italy.
“We welcome UNRWA’s immediate response, including terminating contracts and launching an investigation, as well its recent announcement of a full investigation into allegations against the organisation,” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement per The Guardian. “Australia will engage closely with UNRWA on investigations and is consulting with international partners. While we do this, we will temporarily pause disbursement of recently announced funding.”
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani wrote on X: “The Italian government suspended funding for UNRWA after the atrocious attack by Hamas against Israel on 7 October. Allied countries have recently made the same decision. We are committed to humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian population, protecting Israel’s security,”
Finish minister for foreign trade and development Ville Tavio said: “The allegations of UNRWA staff involvement in the 7th Oct terrorist attacks in Israel are extremely concerning. Finland will temporarily pause funding to UNRWA and will follow the outcome of the independent investigation. Finland does not give aid that benefits Hamas.”
Canadian Minister for International Development Ahmed Hussen said that while Ottowa will not cut off aid to Gaza, it also has decided to suspend funding towards UNRWA, saying: “Canada has temporarily paused any additional funding to UNRWA while it undertakes a thorough investigation into these allegations. Should the allegations prove to be accurate, Canada expects UNRWA to immediately act against those determined to have been involved in Hamas’s terrorist attacks.”
For its part, the European Union has so far not made any decisions on cutting aid, saying that it will wait until findings from a “full and comprehensive investigation” are disclosed.
An unnamed senior official from Israel told the Axios news outlet that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and the Shin Bet intelligence agency had uncovered information that UNRWA staffers actively participated in the barbaric October 7th terror attacks on Israel and that UNWRA vehicles and facilities were used during the attacks.
“This was strong and corroborated intelligence,” the official reportedly said. “A lot of the intelligence is a result of interrogations of militants who were arrested during the 7 October attack.”