UK to resume funding to UN agency for Palestinian refugees | Israel-Palestine conflict news

The new Labor government says UNRWA is “absolutely central” to humanitarian aid and pledges to provide $27 million.

The new Labor government in the United Kingdom has announced that it will resume funding to the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA).

“We are lifting the suspension of funding for UNRWA,” British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Parliament on Friday, adding that the UN agency was “absolutely central” to providing humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Lammy has committed to providing the agency with £21 million ($27 million) in new funding, lifting the funding suspension introduced by the previous Conservative government.

In January, Britain was one of several countries to suspend funding to UNRWA, following accusations from Israel that some of the agency’s employees were involved in the October 7 attack in southern Israel, led by the Palestinian group Hamas.

An independent review authorized by the UN concluded that Israel did not provide credible evidence for its accusations and most donors have since reinstated funding. There is a separate investigation into the October attack, carried out by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services.

Lammy said he was reassured that the agency, which provides education, healthcare and aid to millions of Palestinians, had taken steps to “ensure it meets the highest standards of neutrality.”

Malnutrition in Gaza, he said, was now so severe that mothers were unable to produce breast milk for their children. He highlighted the rates of diarrhea – 40 times normal rates – and the recent detection of poliovirus in the enclave.

“Humanitarian aid is a moral necessity in the face of such a catastrophe, and it is aid agencies that ensure UK support reaches civilians on the ground,” he said.

“UNRWA is absolutely central to these efforts. No other agency can provide help on the scale needed.”

Other countries, including Japan, Germany, Italy, Australia and Canada, have also resumed funding to the agency. But not the biggest donor, the United States.

In February, Lammy’s predecessor, David Cameron, said he wanted an “absolute guarantee” that UNRWA would not employ personnel willing to attack Israel.

Cameron was replaced by Lammy as Foreign Secretary following the Labor Party’s victory in the July 4 election.