The recently-elected left-wing Labour Party government in Britain announced the reverse of the suspension of aid to the Hamas-tied United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza.
In January, the UK and other Western allies cut off aid to the UN agency after reports that numerous employees had participated in the Hamas terror attacks on Israel on October 7th which claimed the lives of around 1,200 innocent civilians and saw more than 250 people taken hostage, some of whom remain in captivity in Gaza to this day.
Israel has also accused UNRWA of helping to radicalise the Palestinian population against the very existence of the Jewish state as well as allowing Hamas to divert international aid to its own benefit.
Despite this, the new left-wing government of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer decided on Friday to restore aid to the controversial UN agency, with £21 million in fresh aid earmarked for delivery.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy told the House of Commons on Friday: “I was appalled by the allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the October 7 attacks but the UN took these allegations seriously.”
The UK’s top diplomat said that the British government had been “reassured” by an independent review into the agency that “UNRWA is ensuring they meet the highest standards of neutrality and strengthening its procedures, including on vetting”.
Britain’s Minister for International Development Anneliese Dodds added: “Only UNRWA can deliver aid at the scale desperately needed in Gaza. That’s why the UK is lifting the pause on UNRWA funding with immediate effect.”
Starmer, who has spent much of his tenure as Labour leader trying to stamp out antisemitic elements within his party after the scandals that bedevilled his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, is facing an increasingly rebellious cohort of British Muslims, previously one of the party’s most reliable demos.
In this month’s general election, five independent candidates were elected — including Corbyn — after running campaigns on the issue of Gaza. The defection of many UK Muslims began in the wake of the October 7th attacks and Starmer’s initial refusal to back calls for a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and the Hamas terrorists.
The new prime minister is therefore trying to walk a fine line politically and will have to try to balance the sentiments of the Muslim community while not appearing to be anti-Israel to the broader public.
Indeed, despite restoring aid to UNRWA on Friday, Starmer’s government still faced criticism from within his own party for not going far enough.
Zarah Sultana, the Pakistani-heritage Labour MP from Coventry South, said that she was “glad” that aid was restored to UNRWA, she said: “We can’t send aid to help people in Gaza [and] at the same time, sell arms to Israel that are killing innocent civilians.
“We need to uphold international law [and] suspend arms sales to Israel,” the Muslim MP demanded.
On the other side, the Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “If one wants to know how Gazan society became radicalised, start with its schools. They are run by UNRWA.
“It is not only disappointing but dangerous that David Lammy and the [Foreign Development Office] have chosen to restore funding to this nefarious organisation.”
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