Middle East Crisis: Review of U.N. Agency Prompts New Calls to Restore Its Funding

The United Nations had commissioned an autarkic reappraisal of the bureau in January, earlier Israel circulated its claims, but those charges gave added value to the inquiry, whose findings were released connected Monday. The study issued a bid of recommendations for the bureau to support its neutrality, but said that “Israel has yet to supply supporting evidence” for its accusation that a important fig of bureau employees are members of violent organizations.

The reappraisal did not code Israel’s accusation that 12 of the agency’s 13,000 employees successful Gaza had participated successful the Oct. 7 onslaught oregon its aftermath, a assertion that the United Nations says remains nether interior investigation. The United Nations has fired 10 of the 12 employees accused by Israel.

Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the U.N. caput general, António Guterres, said connected Monday that Mr. Guterres had accepted the report’s recommendations and appealed for donors “to actively enactment UNRWA, arsenic it is simply a lifeline for Palestine refugees successful the region.”

Caroline Gennez, the curate of improvement for Belgium, which did not chopped disconnected backing to the agency, said that the study showed that UNRWA had “always acted adequately.”

“I telephone connected each donors to resume their support,” she wrote connected societal media. “Now.”

Ireland’s overseas minister, Micheál Martin, was quoted by the nationalist broadcaster, RTÉ, arsenic saying that helium hoped that immoderate countries that had suspended enactment would present resume it. Ireland, which has strongly condemned Israel’s campaign successful Gaza, accrued assistance to UNRWA arsenic different countries were cutting it, helium noted.

“We were precise wide from the connection spell that you could not regenerate oregon undermine UNRWA’s relation successful presumption of giving captious aid, teaching, education,” helium said.

Among the much than a twelve countries that suspended payments implicit Israel’s accusations, respective — including Australia, Canada and Japan — person already resumed funding UNRWA, citing the spiraling humanitarian catastrophe successful Gaza and steps taken by the bureau to amended accountability.

The United States has said it would hold for the results of U.N. investigations earlier deciding whether to resume donations to UNRWA. Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman, told reporters connected Monday that the Biden medication was reviewing the U.N.-commissioned study and had nary appraisal yet of its conclusions.

“Certainly, we invited the information that the secretary-general has accepted the recommendations,” Mr. Miller said, adding that the United States had “long made wide that determination needs to beryllium reforms astatine UNRWA.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called for UNRWA to beryllium closed and replaced “with liable planetary assistance agencies.” Israel’s Foreign Ministry connected Monday called connected donor countries to debar sending wealth to the organization.

UNRWA has argued that Israel has targeted it with a “deliberate and concerted campaign” to undermine its operations erstwhile its services are astir needed.

The European Union, 1 of the largest donors to UNRWA, announced successful March that it was substantially increasing funds to the agency, saying that Palestinians were facing unspeakable conditions and should not beryllium made to wage for Hamas’s crimes.