United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the 10 donor countries that withdrew funding from the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East to reconsider the decision, saying the agency and Palestinians in desperate need should not be punished for alleged the actions of a dozen staff members, the Guardian reports.
Guterres said nine UNRWA staff members had already been dismissed for their alleged involvement in the October 7thHamas attack on Israel and that any UN staff involved in acts of terror would be held accountable, including criminal prosecution.
He said the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), the top investigative body in the UN system, had already been asked to launch an investigation.
Israel officially handed over information to UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini last week alleging that as many as 12 UNRWA staff members were involved in the October 7th attack.
Lazzarani immediately flew to New York to discuss the allegations with Guterres before notifying key donors midweek and releasing the information on Friday, just as the international court of justice was handing down its ruling on South Africa’s request for an interim order seeking from Israel to allow the flow of aid to Gaza.
“The Palestinians did not need this additional collective punishment”
UN officials hoped to prevent a collapse in donations by acting preemptively and quickly. However, the United States (U.S.)responded to the revelations by immediately suspending its funding to UNRWA, and nine other countries, including the United Kingdom (UK) and Germany, have since followed suit. The U.S. was the agency’s largest bilateral donor in 2022, giving it more than $340 million.
“Our humanitarian operation, on which 2 million people depend and which is a lifeline in Gaza, is collapsing. I am shocked that such decisions are made based on the alleged behavior of a few individuals, and as the war continues, the needs deepen and famine looms. The Palestinians in Gaza did not need this additional collective punishment,” Lazzarini said.
“Two million civilians in Gaza depend on UNRWA’s critical assistance for their daily survival, but UNRWA’s current funding will not allow it to meet all needs in February,” he said, N1 writes.
E.Dz.
