On Tuesday, Israel expressed its regret over the European Commission’s decision to allocate 50 million euros to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Lior Khayat, spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a post on the X platform:
“On the European Commission’s decision to allocate 50 million euros to UNRWA before the UN investigative committees finish their work and present their conclusions and recommendations.
It is an unfortunate decision that legitimizes the involvement of UNRWA employees in terrorist activities and cooperation with Hamas,” he said.
He added that in the coming weeks, “Israel will provide all the information in its possession to the sponsoring countries and to the United Nations investigation committees.”
Once again, Tel Aviv called on “the European Commission and other donor countries to stop their contributions to UNRWA.”
On January 26, several countries, including the United States and the European Union, decided to suspend their funding to UNRWA.
This is based on Israel’s allegations that 12 agency employees participated in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, on Israeli settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip.
But the European Commission announced last Friday that it intends to “fund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) with 50 million euros next week (currently).”
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On the other hand, Khayyat claimed that “Israel is obligated to deliver humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza.
It works with other UN agencies and entities to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Khayyat’s statements contradict international appeals regarding the decrease in the volume of aid entering the Strip, which has been suffering from a fierce Israeli war for 5 months.
This was exacerbated by the decline in UNRWA’s financial conditions against the backdrop of Israeli allegations and decisions to stop funding.
While UNRWA announced the opening of an investigation into the Israeli allegations to determine the facts, Israel is still pressing to liquidate and erase the UN agency.
Quantify and transfer responsibility for Palestinian refugees to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Since last October 7, Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip, leaving tens of thousands of victims, most of them children and women.
In addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to Palestinian and UN statements, which led to Israel being brought before the International Court of Justice on charges of committing “genocide.”
