United Nations officials on Sunday asked the nine member nations that paused funding for the UN agency for Palestinians over allegation staffers were complicit in the Hamas raids to reconsider – vowing in exchange to punish anyone involved in the attack on Israel.
The nine countries, including the U.S. and Germany, have paused funding for the UN’s relief agency for Palestinians following allegations by Israel that some agency staff members were involved in an attack on Israel.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the governments that suspended their contributions to guarantee the continuity of the organization’s operations.
He vowed to hold accountable any U.N. employee involved in acts of terror, including the possibility of criminal prosecution.
A U.N. investigation into the Israeli allegations is currently underway, and the UNRWA commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, urged countries to reconsider their decisions before the organization is forced to suspend its humanitarian response.
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people rely on aid from the UNRWA.
About one million of them have fled Israeli bombardments and are now sheltering in UNRWA facilities.
