Sweden will no longer fund the United Nations refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) and will instead provide increased overall humanitarian assistance to Gaza via other channels, the Nordic country says, in a move denounced by the head of the agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe government\u2019s core support to UNRWA ends,\u201d the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UNRWA provides assistance to nearly six million Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel, which said it will ban UNRWA operations in the country from late January, has alleged that 19 employees from the agency were involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After an investigation by the UN\u2019s oversight body, the UN terminated nine UNRWA employees it found \u201cmay have been involved\u201d in the attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sweden\u2019s decision was made in response to the Israeli ban because it will make channelling aid via UNRWA more difficult, Swedish International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa told Swedish broadcaster TV4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sweden plans to increase its overall humanitarian assistance to Gaza next year to 800 million Swedish kronor ($72.44 million) from 451 million Swedish kronor ($41 million) spent this year, its Foreign Ministry said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aid will flow via several organisations, including the UN World Food Programme, UNICEF, the UN Population Fund and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the ministry added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new Israeli law does not directly ban UNRWA\u2019s operations in the occupied West Bank and Gaza but it will have a severe impact on UNRWA\u2019s ability to work. Top UN officials described UNRWA as the backbone of Gaza\u2019s aid response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Palestinian embassy in Stockholm said in a statement that it rejects the idea of finding \u201calternatives to UNRWA\u201d, adding that the agency had a \u201cspecial mandate to provide services to Palestinian refugees\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The refugee population relies on UNRWA healthcare, education, emergency relief and humanitarian assistance, it noted. The UN General Assembly threw its support behind UNRWA this month, demanding that Israel respect the agency\u2019s mandate and \u201cenable its operations to proceed without impediment or restriction\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini called Sweden\u2019s decision \u201cdisappointing\u201d and coming at the \u201cworst time for Palestine refugees\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe decision is one day after the members of the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution in support of UNRWA,\u201d he said in a post on X. \u201cThis is a sad day for Palestine Refugees and the multilateral system which Sweden has spearheaded,\u201d Lazzarini said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Amichai Chikli, Israel\u2019s diaspora affairs minister, hailed the Nordic country\u2019s decision, claiming UNRWA \u201chas lost its legitimacy to exist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel thanked Dousa for a meeting they had this week and for Sweden\u2019s decision to drop its support for UNRWA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are worthy and viable alternatives for humanitarian aid, and I appreciate the willingness to listen and adopt a different approach,\u201d she said. After the nine UNRWA staff members were fired, Israel claimed in July that another 100 UNRWA employees were members of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agency said last month it had asked Israel to provide more information and had not received a response.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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