The European Commission has called for an investigation into the United Nations Relief and Works Agency Gaza staff to ensure that they did not participate in the October 7 Hamas-led massacre of 1,200 people in southern Israel.
“A review of all UNRWA staff should be launched soonest to confirm that they did not participate in the attacks,” the European Commission said as it raised concerns over Israeli allegations that 12 UNRWA staff members had been part of that attack.
UNRWA fired nine of the accused staff members and has launched an investigation into the complaint, which includes a charge that a staff member kidnapped an Israeli woman, according to information published in The New York Times.
190 UNWRA staff members part of Oct. 7 attack, Israel alleges
Reuters said it had seen an intelligence dossier from Israel that outlined allegations against 190 UNRWA employees, including teachers, who have doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad militants. UNRWA has 13,000 staff members who work in Gaza.
European Union member states have been split on how best to respond to Israel’s allegations against UNRWA. Some eight of its 27-member bloc suspended already pledged funding for the 2024 budget pending the results of a UNRWA-led investigation.
Ireland and Norway have argued that funding should continue for the agency that has been the main provider of humanitarian aid to Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war and which has lost 152 staff members in that war.
The EU Commission, however, stopped short of declaring that it was suspending funding, stating instead that “Currently, no additional funding to UNRWA is foreseen until the end of February.”
It explained that the “EU is one of the largest donors of humanitarian and development aid to Palestinians in Gaza,” the commission stated. It assured the Palestinians that “humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank will continue unabated through partner organizations.”
Austria and Romania on Monday added their names to the growing list of some 15 countries that have suspended payments to UNRWA.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry stated that “Until all of these allegations have been clarified and the consequences drawn from them are clear, Austria, in coordination with international partners, will temporarily suspend all further payments to UNRWA.”
Thirteen other countries have issued similar declarations Australia, Canada, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Those declarations if not rescinded are expected to severely cripple the agency which provides services to 5.9 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, east Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
At issue is the country's pledges toward the agency's 2024 budget, which is expected to top $1.6 billion. At stake already are some $363 million in pledges.
UNRWA which is already challenged by meeting the humanitarian needs of Palestinians impacted by the Gaza war, the Syrian civil war, and the economic crisis in Lebanon has said it might not be able to provide basic vital services past February unless the donors rescind the monetary suspensions.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry called on more donor countries to suspend funding to UNRWA, which it charged on Monday was “a front for Hamas.”
It has long been argued that UNRWA is associated with incitement against Israel and terror activity. UNRWA has denied those claims.
IDF soldiers in Gaza in the last months, however, reported finding weapons in facilities associated with UNRWA and charged that Hamas was able to expropriate the agency’s humanitarian aid.
On Monday the Foreign tweeted that there are “reports of two Israeli hostages being imprisoned in the home of a UNRWA teacher.”
It also charged that some “300 UNRWA employees” had “praised the October 7th massacre.”
Israel, however, has not made the incriminating data it has on UNRWA public.