After the US, Australia, and Canada, UN agency funding was suspended due to allegations of an October 7 attack
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has lost funds from Australia and Canada after Israel accused twelve workers of being involved in the October 7 assault by Hamas. Penny Wong, the foreign minister of Australia, expressed her “deep concern” over the accusations made against UNRWA on Saturday.
She posted on social networking site X, saying, “We are talking with partners and will temporarily pause disbursement of recent funding.” She said, “We applaud UNRWA’s prompt action in canceling contracts and initiating a probe, as well as its recent declaration of a thorough investigation into accusations against the agency.
On Friday, Ottawa “temporarily paused any additional funding to UNRWA while it undertakes a thorough investigation into these allegations,” according to a statement made by Canada’s Minister of International Development, Ahmed Hussen. He said on X that Canada is “engaging closely with UNRWA and other donors on this issue and is taking these reports extremely seriously.”
“Canada expects UNRWA to take immediate action against those found to have been involved in Hamas’ terrorist attacks, should the allegations prove to be true.” The actions follow the US cutting off financing to UNRWA on Friday, citing charges against 12 staff members who “may have been involved” in the Hamas strike that started the Gaza War.
UNRWA said on Friday that it has fired a number of staff members who Israel had claimed were involved in the strike on October 7. Any UNRWA employee discovered to have participated in “acts of terror” would be held “accountable, including through criminal prosecution,” according to agency chief Philippe Lazzarini. Antonio Guterres, the head of the UN, has promised to do a “urgent and comprehensive independent review” of UNRWA.
