Germany Freezes UNRWA Funding in Gaza Strip
“Israel's right to self-defense is not taken into account in any way”
The International Court of Justice has called on Israel to show restraint in the Gaza war, but has not demanded an end to the offensive. At the same time South Africa's claim of genocide was accepted. “You can certainly hit civilians if they're fired from buildings,” says WELT chief commentator Jack Schuster.
UNRWA, the UN's Palestinian relief agency, has fired 12 staff members suspected of involvement in the Hamas massacre in Israel. Many countries stopped funding the organization. Germany also has not approved any new funds for now.
DUN condemns Hamas massacre in Israel Germany is currently unwilling to approve any new funding for the organization, as some staff from the Palestinian relief organization UNRWA are said to be involved. “Until further clarification, Germany, in coordination with other donor countries, will temporarily not authorize any new funding for UNRWA in Gaza,” the Foreign Office and Development Ministry announced in Berlin on Saturday evening. However, it said there are no new commitments pending at this time.
At the same time, the ministries stressed that humanitarian aid to the Palestinians will continue. A few days ago, funding for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the UN Children's Fund UNICEF was increased by seven million euros. UNWRA is vital to the basic needs of the Palestinian people. It was “absolutely appropriate” that UNRWA acted immediately in light of the allegations against staff and that Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini “took immediate action”.
Following the US and Canada, Great Britain, Italy and Australia also suspended payments to the aid system on Saturday.
In 2023, Germany provided 200 million euros to UNRWA
According to its own data, the central government supported the UN relief agency UNRWA with over 200 million euros in 2023 alone. Other Western countries are also important donors to UNRWA.
Israel had provided the aid organization with information that twelve of the organization's thousands of employees in the Gaza Strip were allegedly involved in the massacre. They were immediately released. Lazzarini and UN Secretary-General António Guterres were horrified and threatened victims with criminal consequences.
In attacks on October 7, terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian groups in Israel killed more than 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages. Israel responded with massive airstrikes and ground attacks. According to Palestinian figures, more than 26,000 people were killed as a result.
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