The USA, Canada, Australia, Italy, Great Britain, Germany and Finland are among the nine countries that have announced a halt in payments to UNRWA.
The background is accusations from the Israeli authorities that UNRWA employees participated in the terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October.
The suspects concern twelve people, according to the US Department of State.
UNRWA says that the twelve employees have been dismissed as a result of information that has come to light.
Totally central organization
– UNRWA is absolutely crucial for the humanitarian work in Gaza, as much as 80 per cent of the emergency aid to the area comes via this UN organisation, says foreign director Nora Ingdal at Redd Barna to NRK.
GREAT NEED: Palestinians in Gaza have taken sacks of flour from a truck with emergency aid. The picture was taken yesterday.
Photo: Reuters
She points out that the organization is responsible for hundreds of thousands of people in its shelters, and that it delivers food and water to vulnerable children and families who have nowhere else to flee.
UNRWA has around 30,000 employees and is the only organization with the infrastructure to distribute large amounts of aid.
Other aid organizations depend on using UNRWA to get help, says Ingdal. She says that stopping support for the organization could have disastrous consequences.
USER UNRWA: Foreign Affairs Manager Nora Ingdal in Save the Children cuts in support to the UN could have catastrophic consequences in Gaza.
Photo: Save the Children
– Children and their families in Gaza may be affected by an unprecedented humanitarian disaster, with the threat of famine.
But according to Save the Children, it is important that the accusations that UN employees participated in the terrorist attack must be investigated.
– This must be investigated to find out what happened. The accusations cannot go unanswered, emphasizes the organisation’s foreign manager.
Guterres: – I was startled myself
– Any UN employee involved in acts of terrorism must be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution, says UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a statement on Sunday morning.
CALL: UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls for continued support for UNRWA:
Photo: AP
He urges continued support for UNRWA’s work.
– I understand their concerns. I myself was horrified by these accusations. But I strongly urge the governments that have suspended contributions to at least guarantee the continued operation of UNRWA, says Guterres.
LIFE AND DEATH: Historian and author Marte Heian-Engdal says that support for UNRWA is vital for many people.
Historian and author Marte Heian-Engdal tells NRK that it will be very important for the humanitarian work that the UN regains its support from the western countries.
– This is in reality a matter of life and death for a great many people, and in a sense something that one can hope that for the longest time the donors will avoid that “politics are involved”, as has been the case for the last few days.
Heian-Engdal points out that UNRWA is far from a perfect organisation, and that the UNRWA management and Guterres know this well from before.
– But the UN organization is also the lifeline for many millions of people. To cut, or reduce that possibility now, at a time that is completely precarious, you don’t need a fortune teller to say that will have disastrous results, emphasizes the historian and author.
Norway continues its support
While several countries have decided to stop support, Norway, for its part, has decided to continue sending money to UNRWA.
ATTACKS CONTINUE: Palestinians flee fighting in the town of Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip. The picture was taken on Saturday.
Photo: Reuters
– The situation in Gaza is catastrophic, and UNRWA is the most important humanitarian organization there. Norway continues our support for the Palestinian people through UNRWA. International support for Palestine is needed now more than ever, writes Norway in Palestinewhich is Norway’s representative office to the Palestinian authorities.
They further write that they support the investigation and ask for full transparency. At the same time, they say that a distinction must be made between what individual individuals may have done and what the organization UNRWA stands for.
Israel’s government stated earlier on Saturday that it intends to prevent UNRWA from operating in the Gaza Strip after the war is over.
Difficult relationship
– Lazzarini, please step down, writes Foreign Minister Israel Katz in one message on X.
Katz’s statement came after UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini on Saturday evening warned that the UN organization’s operations in the Gaza Strip must soon be closed because several countries have stopped payments to the organization.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini fears an end to the organisation’s work in the Gaza Strip after several countries have stopped payments.
Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB
– UNRWA must be replaced with agencies dedicated to real peace and development in the reconstruction of Gaza, Katz said earlier in the day.
Hamas, for its part, criticizes what the movement calls Israeli “threats” against UNRWA and calls on the UN and other international organizations “not to give in to threats and blackmail”.
Palestinians try to put out a fire in a UNRWA building after an Israeli attack in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday this week.
Photo: Ramez Habboub / AP
Relations between Israel and UNRWA have been strained for many years, but have worsened recently.
The UN organization had problems obtaining enough funding even before the war started.
The situation for UNRWA worsened dramatically in 2018 when then US President Donald Trump stopped funding the organisation.
US funding was later resumed, before being frozen again on Friday as a result of the ongoing allegations.