A raft of EU countries - including France and Germany - have suspended funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees following allegations staff members were involved in the 7 October attacks on Israel.
ADVERTISEMENTAustria and Lithuania became the latest EU nations to halt payments to UNRWA on Monday morning. They join Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the US and the UK, who have also announced suspensions.
Ireland and Norway have said their payments to the agency - which plays a pivotal role in ensuring life-saving aid reaches the population of Gaza - will continue.
It comes after several UNRWA staff members were alleged to have been involved in Hamas' 7 October attack on Israel, which left more than 1,200 Israelis dead and provoked a war in Gaza that has claimed the lives of more than 26,000 Palestinians.
According to a statement by the US Department of State, the allegations relate to twelve UNRWA employees.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said Friday he had immediately fired the employees suspected of involvement "to protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance," to the besieged Gaza Strip.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "horrified by this news," according to his spokesperson.
On Friday, the European Commission and foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called in a joint statement for UNRWA to "provide full transparency on the allegations and to take immediate measures against staff involved."
The EU executive meanwhile says it will "assess further steps" and "draw lessons" from the results of the investigation.
The EU's neighbourhood commissioner Olivér Várhelyi and humanitarian aid commissioner Janez Lenarčič echoed the calls for a transparent investigation.
EU payments of development aid to the Palestinian territories were temporarily suspended in response to the 7th October attacks, pending a review to ensure no EU cash inadvertently reached the hands of Hamas, designated a terrorist organisation by the bloc.
Contracts in the value of €331 million were screened, with no diversion of funds to terrorist groups found, allowing development aid to flow again.
The EU is the biggest donor of development aid to the Palestinian territories, with a significant portion of aid channelled through UNRWA, to support vulnerable and displaced families.
For 2021 to 2023, the EU’s contribution to UNRWA’s programme budget amounted to €281 million.
This article, first published on January 26, has been updated to include more details and the full list of countries that have announced the temporary suspension of funding.