New Zealand halts funding to UNRWA on Tuesday, January 30, amid allegations of involvement with Hamas. Aid of around 1 million NZD is on hold.
New Zealand announced on Tuesday that it was suspending funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), following accusations that some of its employees were involved in the Hamas attack on October 7.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said that the pause would last until the facts were clarified. “These allegations are extremely serious. It is important that they are properly understood and investigated,” he told the press.
Following the accusations made by Israel last week, UNRWA, which provides vital aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip, dismissed several of its employees and promised a thorough investigation.
Thirteen countries have suspended funding to the agency so far, despite UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for aid to continue. Including New Zealand, these countries are Canada, Australia, France, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Japan, Austria and Romania.
Guterres is due to meet the agency’s “main donors” in New York on Tuesday to review the situation.
For its part, on Monday, the European Union asked UNRWA “to accept that an audit be carried out by independent experts chosen by the European Commission.”
According to Luxon, New Zealand’s aid to UNRWA amounts to around 1 million New Zealand dollars ($610,000) a year.
Spain confirmed on Monday that it will not suspend its funding to the UN agency. Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares affirmed that his country would uphold its relations with UNRWA and sustain its funding unchanged.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged UNRWA to promptly investigate the “deeply troubling” allegations of staff involvement in the fatal October 7 attacks in southern Israel.
With AFP
