{"id":5830,"date":"2024-04-30T19:14:55","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T19:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830"},"modified":"2024-04-30T19:14:55","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T19:14:55","slug":"growing-donor-support-for-unrwa-shows-vote-of-confidence-in-embattled-agency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830","title":{"rendered":"Growing donor support for UNRWA shows vote of confidence in embattled agency"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n
<\/p>\n

\nGeneva \u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The head of UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians, reports many countries have resumed the funding that they suspended following allegations by Israel in late January that several staff members were linked to terrorism.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn January, once the allegations had been made public, up to 16 countries suspended their contributions to the agency,\u201d UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is that as of today, most of the donor countries have resumed their contributions to the agency. We just have a handful of countries who still have to take a decision,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Three months ago, Israel accused 12 UNRWA staff members of involvement in Hamas\u2019s terrorist attack on Israel October 7, in which some 1,200 people were killed in Israel and around 250 taken hostage by the Palestinian militants. The U.N.\u2019s Office of Internal Oversight Services is conducting an investigation to determine the veracity of those allegations.<\/p>\n

A separate independent panel was tasked with determining whether UNRWA was doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality. Its report issued last week, the \u201cColonna report<\/a>,\u201d found no evidence that UNRWA staff were members of \u201cterrorist\u201d groups but acknowledged that \u201cneutrality-related issues persist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who chaired the inquiry committee, called UNRWA \u201cindispensable and irreplaceable\u201d in providing humanitarian relief to many of the more than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza who lack food, water, and other essential lifesaving commodities.<\/p>\n

Lazzarini told journalists in Geneva that $267 million in aid remains frozen because the United States, UNRWA\u2019s main contributor \u201cwill not be able to support the agency before March 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut, meanwhile, they are recommending that other countries support UNRWA,\u201d he said, noting that the United Kingdom, Austria, and Switzerland have not taken decisions \u201cwhile all others have resumed funding for UNRWA.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news also on the funding is that we have new donors who before never contributed to the agency. And I want to flag the success of private funding,\u201d he said noting that UNRWA has received more than $115 million in private funding in the last six months.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an indication of the extraordinary grassroots solidarity expressed toward Palestinians and also to the agency,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Lazzarini briefed member states Tuesday morning on the latest developments in the Gaza Strip. He told them that colleagues on the ground speak of an \u201cextraordinary deep anxiety\u201d prevailing in Gaza and warn that the likelihood of a military offensive depends on \u201cwhether a cease-fire deal is reached this week.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople have not been asked to evacuate from Rafah but there is a sense that if there is no deal this week that this can happen at any time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, he said the U.N. in northern Gaza was \u201cengaged in a race against the clock to reverse the spreading hunger and the looming famine.\u201d<\/p>\n

He observed that U.N. aid agencies and the Israeli authorities do not see eye to eye on a great number of issues and are engaged in what he calls \u201cthe blame game.\u201d He said the Israelis maintain that they are \u201cproviding all necessary food\u201d and that the problem is on the side of the United Nations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not true. Our convoys are systematically denied, so we still have no access,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis morning, I also highlighted the fact that the agency is under a lot of strain. There are calls for the agency to be dismantled. But the agency also has been targeted in the last six to seven months in Gaza where both our staff and our premises as well as our operations\u201d have been under attack.<\/p>\n

Since the start of the war, October 7, UNRWA reports 182 staff members have been killed and more than 160 premises have been damaged or destroyed.\u201cMost of these premises were sheltering displaced people and more than 400 people have been killed in these premises,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Adi Farjon, deputy permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations in Geneva, attended the executive briefing and said, \u201cFrom the beginning, Israel has been clear it views UNRWA Gaza as part of the problem, not part of the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Israel shared details of an investigation of UNRWA members \u201cwho took part in the October 7 massacre\u201d with the commissioner general, she said Israel has only dealt with the facts.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, it is a fact, that 19 members of the organization took an active part in the October 7 terrorist attack. It is also a fact that more than 2,135 UNRWA workers in Gaza are members of either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Lazzarini countered by saying, \u201cOut of the 19, one person has been completely cleared and is now reinstated, and four people out of the 19, the investigation is now on hold because there is no information available for the time being.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Geneva \u2014\u00a0 The head of UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5831,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nGrowing donor support for UNRWA shows vote of confidence in embattled agency - International Pulse<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Growing donor support for UNRWA shows vote of confidence in embattled agency - International Pulse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Geneva \u2014\u00a0 The head of UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians,...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"International Pulse\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-04-30T19:14:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gdb.voanews.com\/01000000-c0a8-0242-6eb0-08dc40960565_cx0_cy5_cw0_w800_h450.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830\",\"name\":\"Growing donor support for UNRWA shows vote of confidence in embattled agency - International Pulse\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-04-30T19:14:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-30T19:14:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Growing donor support for UNRWA shows vote of confidence in embattled agency\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/\",\"name\":\"International Pulse\",\"description\":\"There's a different sound here\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/demo6.aiwalls.com\/automatic-news\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Growing donor support for UNRWA shows vote of confidence in embattled agency - International Pulse","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Growing donor support for UNRWA shows vote of confidence in embattled agency - International Pulse","og_description":"Geneva \u2014\u00a0 The head of UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians,...","og_url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830","og_site_name":"International Pulse","article_published_time":"2024-04-30T19:14:55+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/gdb.voanews.com\/01000000-c0a8-0242-6eb0-08dc40960565_cx0_cy5_cw0_w800_h450.jpg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830","url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830","name":"Growing donor support for UNRWA shows vote of confidence in embattled agency - International Pulse","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-04-30T19:14:55+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-30T19:14:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?p=5830#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Growing donor support for UNRWA shows vote of confidence in embattled agency"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#website","url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/","name":"International Pulse","description":"There's a different sound here","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/d507bf8682a9ef7e3ad7a69d9db5e1c3","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f8e3f392738821708fe4235b6ffa7215?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/demo6.aiwalls.com\/automatic-news"],"url":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1"}]}},"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/C3170460-55DD-424D-9A97-ECFADC100F79.jpg",1200,628,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/C3170460-55DD-424D-9A97-ECFADC100F79-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/C3170460-55DD-424D-9A97-ECFADC100F79-300x157.jpg",300,157,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/C3170460-55DD-424D-9A97-ECFADC100F79-768x402.jpg",640,335,true],"large":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/C3170460-55DD-424D-9A97-ECFADC100F79-1024x536.jpg",640,335,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/C3170460-55DD-424D-9A97-ECFADC100F79.jpg",1200,628,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/C3170460-55DD-424D-9A97-ECFADC100F79.jpg",1200,628,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/C3170460-55DD-424D-9A97-ECFADC100F79-1115x628.jpg",1115,628,true],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/C3170460-55DD-424D-9A97-ECFADC100F79-800x500.jpg",800,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/C3170460-55DD-424D-9A97-ECFADC100F79-1024x536.jpg",1024,536,true],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/C3170460-55DD-424D-9A97-ECFADC100F79-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/C3170460-55DD-424D-9A97-ECFADC100F79-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/?cat=9\" rel=\"category\">News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5830"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalpulse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}