The German government on Wednesday announced it will resume cooperating with the U.N. relief and works agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), less than three months after it temporarily withdrew its support for the organization following allegations that its employees were involved in the Oct. 7 terror attack.
Germany’s move comes after an independent review commissioned by the U.N. said Israel has yet to present evidence backing its allegations that a “significant number” of UNRWA employees are affiliated with terrorist organizations.
“By continuing our acute cooperation, we are supporting UNRWA’s vital and currently irreplaceable role in providing aid to the people of Gaza, as other international aid organizations are also currently dependent on UNRWA’s operational structures in Gaza,” Germany’s Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a statement.
Germany and 15 other U.N. member countries suspended $450 million worth of funding after Israel accused 12 UNRWA employees of participating in the Oct. 7 terror attack, the report said. Of those implicated, 10 saw their contracts terminated by the UNRWA while two were confirmed dead, according to the U.N.
The funding cuts came as the humanitarian situation in Gaza grew increasingly dire. Israel’s military operation there has killed more than 34,000 people and left the territory on the brink of famine.
Following the release of the report Monday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said, without providing evidence, that Hamas’ penetration of the U.N. agency runs so deep that “it is impossible to say where UNRWA ends and Hamas begins.”
UNRWA — which was created in 1949 and operates in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria — has been playing a crucial role in supporting vulnerable Palestinian refugees in accessing vital services such as primary and vocational education, primary health care, relief and social services.
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