UNRWA chief criticizes Sweden’s ‘disappointing’ decision to cut off funding | News

Stockholm says the decision is a response to Israel’s plan to ban the UN agency from the end of January.

Sweden will no longer fund the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) and will instead provide more humanitarian aid to Gaza through other channels, the Nordic country has said, which the agency’s head denounces.

“The government’s core support for UNRWA ends,” the Swedish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

UNRWA provides assistance to nearly six million Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.

Israel, which announced it would ban UNRWA operations in the country from the end of January, has claimed that 19 of the organization’s employees were involved in the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.

According to an investigation by the UN oversight body, The UN fired nine UNRWA staff It noted that “may have been involved in the attack.”

Sweden’s decision was made in response to the Israeli ban because it would make it more difficult to channel aid through UNRWA, Swedish International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa told Swedish broadcaster TV4.

Sweden plans to increase its total humanitarian aid to Gaza to 800 million Swedish kronor ($72.44 million) next year, from 451 million Swedish kronor ($41 million) spent this year, the said Foreign Ministry with.

Aid will flow through several organizations, including the UN World Food Program, UNICEF, the UN Population Fund and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the ministry added.

The new Israeli law does not directly prohibit UNRWA operations in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip, but will have serious implications for UNRWA’s ability to operate. Senior UN officials described UNRWA as the backbone of the Gaza relief effort.

“Sad day”

The Palestinian embassy in Stockholm said in a statement that it rejected the idea of ​​finding “alternatives to UNRWA,” adding that the agency had a “specific mandate to provide services to Palestinian refugees.”

The refugee population relies on UNRWA Health care, education, emergency aid and humanitarian assistance, it said.

The UN General Assembly this month endorsed UNRWA and called on Israel to respect the organization’s mandate and “allow its operations to continue without hindrance or restriction.”

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini called Sweden’s decision “disappointing” and came at the “worst time for Palestine refugees.”

“The decision comes a day after members of the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution supporting UNRWA,” he said in a post on X.

“This is a sad day for Palestine refugees and the multilateral system that Sweden has led,” Lazzarini said.

Meanwhile, Amichai Chikli, Israel’s Minister for Diaspora Affairs, welcomed the Nordic country’s decision, claiming UNRWA had “lost its legitimacy to exist.”

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel thanked Dousa for this week’s meeting and for Sweden’s decision to end its support for UNRWA.

“There are worthy and viable alternatives to humanitarian assistance, and I appreciate the willingness to listen and take a different approach,” she said.

After nine UNRWA staff was firedIsrael claimed in July that another 100 UNRWA employees were members of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.

The agency said last month it had asked Israel for more information and received no response.