The European Commission will pay 50 million euros to the “beleaguered” U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) – but retain a further 32 million euros as investigations continue into the alleged involvement of 12 staff members in the 7th October attacks on Israel, Reuters have reported.
The EU executive body also revealed that overall aid this year for the Palestinians would be increased by 68 million euros.
At the end of January, referencing the UN agency’s staff, the Commission announced that it would “determine upcoming funding decisions for UNRWA in light of the very serious allegations.”
Aid to the Palestinian territories was temporarily suspended following the Hamas attack on Israel, whilst the Commission delved into whether any EU cash “had inadvertently reached the hands of terrorist organisations.”
The review had unearthed no diversion of funds to terrorist groups, which meant the flow of development aid could be resumed.
This followed a wave of worldwide funding suspensions from countries that included the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Japan, Austria and Romania.
Israel had claimed that 12 of the 13,000 UNRWA staff in the enclave were involved in the Hamas attacks inside Israel which, according to Israeli sources, left 1,200 people dead with a further 250 being taken as hostages.
Euronews reported that one UNRWA staffer faced accusations of kidnap, with another alleged to have taken part in an attack on a kibbutz, which left 97 people dead. UNRWA was said to have dismissed all the accused staff.
Differing views
The EU’s latest position was said to reflect “different views amongst EU countries and in its own ranks.” As a result, the Commission would pay 60% immediately, with two further tranches of 16 million euros “as UNRWA addressed issues arising from the allegations,” Reuters stated.
UNRWA, for whom the EU is one of its largest donors, provides aid and basic services in the Gaza Strip and the wider Middle East. Between 2021 and 2023, the EU contributed €281 million to the UNRWA’s programme budget, according to Euronews.
The Commission said that UNRWA had agreed that it “stands ready to ensure that a review of its staff is carried out to confirm they did not participate in the attacks and that further controls are put in place to mitigate such risks in the future.”
It went on to say that said the agency had also agreed to an audit into its control systems “to prevent the possible involvement of its staff and assets in terrorist activities.”
The further tranches of aid would be “released in line with the implementation of this agreement”, the Commission said.
EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said on social media platform X that the first transfer was an important step in alleviating the situation in Gaza. “By continuing to fund it, the EU acknowledges UNRWA as an irreplaceable actor,” he wrote.
UNRWA’s boss, Philippe Lazzarini, welcomed the Commission’s decision to support the agency but added: “The full disbursement of the EU contribution is key to the agency’s ability to maintain its operations in a very volatile area.”
Adherence to neutrality
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that as well as dismissing the accused staff, the UN was investigating the allegations and had also commissioned “a review of UNRWA’s adherence to neutrality.”
In January, the Commission had called for a prompt investigation into UNRWA staff activities to “confirm that they did not participate in the attacks.”
Eric Mamer, the Commission’s chief spokesperson, said: “We are asking first of all for the organisation to carry out the investigation which it has itself announced and, secondly, we are asking them to agree to an audit carried out by independent experts that would be selected by the Commission.
“We expect UNRWA to allow this independent review to take place,” he added.
The UN’s Secretary-General António Guterres had pleaded with countries which had terminated their UNRWA funding arrangements to reverse their decisions, so that “life-saving aid continues to reach the civilian population in the besieged Gaza strip.”
Spain, Ireland and Luxembourg were highlighted as countries that had announced that they would continue supporting the agency “to avoid endangering its critical work.”
In their January statement, the Commission said that humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank would continue unabated through partner organisations, but that no additional funding to UNRWA would be forthcoming until the end of February. The money flow has subsequently been re-established.
EU to pay UN Palestinian agency 50 mln euros but hold back some funds | Reuters
European Commission Statement on UNRWA – European Commission (europa.eu)
