ALBAWABA - Recent events have shown that the European Union (EU) Commission is still determined to give money to the UNRWA, which is the agency that helps Palestinian refugees in the Near East. There were claims that UNRWA employees were involved in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, which led to the ruling.
After carefully considering the claims, the EU Commission has decided that it will continue to give money to UNRWA despite the accusations. The agency will receive a large amount of money—50 million euros—next week. More money will be added, bringing the total amount of help for 2024 to 150 million euros.
Because of the claims, UNRWA, an organization that helps millions of Palestinian refugees by giving them with basic services, has been closely looked at. Even though it has had problems and Israeli forces have attacked its buildings many times over the years, UNRWA has stuck to its goal to help Palestinian communities by providing food, medical care, education, and shelter.
The claims that UNRWA employees were involved in the attacks on October 7 led UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to call for immediate probes. In answer, UNRWA started its own investigation into the claims made against its employees.
The EU's choice to keep giving money to UNRWA is different from what some other countries have done. After the accusations, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, and a number of other countries briefly stopped giving money to UNRWA. Despite this, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, and other countries have said they will continue to help the agency.
Earlier, Canada has decided to suspend its financial contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) following allegations of staff involvement in the October 7 attacks made by Israel.
The move comes after the US government said that it would stop funding UNRWA right away, claiming evidence from Israel that 12 office workers for the agency took part in the October 7 Hamas attacks.
UNRWA fired a number of workers who were thought to have been involved with the October 7 attacks. Since then, Israeli attacks have been going on in Gaza, and the agency has been very important in helping the people who live there.
