Austria swims against US current, resumes funding for UNRWA
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Austria was one of many major donors to halt financing for UNRWA in January, freezing a total of around $450 million in aid, despite Israeli failure to prove their allegations.
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A man collects trash while wearing a jacket bearing the logo of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. (AFP)
Austria has become the latest country to reinstate financing for the UN organization for Palestinian refugees, which was halted after "Israel" falsely accused UNRWA staff of colluding with the Palestinian Resistance.
Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, Sweden, and the EU have recently reinstated funding for the organization.
Austria was one of many major donors, including the EU and the United States, to halt financing for UNRWA in January, freezing a total of around $450 million in aid, despite Israeli failure to provide any proof for their allegations.
Several nations renewed financing following the publication of an assessment of UNRWA headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, which determined that the organization had a "robust" commitment to neutrality and offered minor reform recommendations.
Austria's Foreign Ministry expressed on Saturday that after "analyzing the action plan in detail," Austria decided to "release the funds," detailing that some would be used in the future to improve internal control mechanisms at UNRWA.
The country earmarked around $3.7 million for UNRWA this year, with the first payment scheduled to be made in the summer, according to the statement.
Austria stated that it will "closely monitor" the execution of the action plan with other foreign partners, stressing that "a lot of trust had been squandered."
UN experts on Friday expressed in a statement that they are "disappointed" that certain governments have yet to restart their assistance for UNRWA.
"The independent review ordered by the UN Secretary-General, following an increase of allegations since the onset of the military assault on Gaza in October 2023, has shown that the claim that significant numbers of UNRWA employees have ties with 'terrorist organizations' remains unsubstantiated," the experts said.
According to the experts, UNRWA has been a political target for some months, with UN officials being verbally and physically abused, especially since the funding freeze has "already severely curtailed the agency's operations in Gaza" for 2.2 million people in critical need.
UNRWA denounces 'Israel's safe zones' as false
The Chief of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini dismissed "Israel's" assertion regarding the establishment of purported "safe zones" for forcibly displaced Palestinians as "false and misleading" via a post on X on Sunday.
Again and again.
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) May 11, 2024
The exodus continues.
The Israeli authorities continue to issue forced displacement orders also known as “evacuation orders”. This is forcing people in #Rafah to flee anywhere and everywhere.
Since the war began, most people in #Gaza have moved multiple… https://t.co/dnpAllLq3I
"The claim of ‘safe zones’ is false and misleading," the UNRWA chief stressed.
He added that Israeli authorities persist in issuing mandatory displacement directives, also referred to as "evacuation orders", compelling residents in Rafah to leave hastily without designated destinations.
"Since the war began, most people in Gaza have moved multiple times: on average once a month. They desperately sought safety that they never found," he further stated.
Lazzarini also highlighted that the Palestinians displaced from Gaza have no alternative but to seek refuge in UNRWA's shelters, many of which have already been targeted and damaged by Israeli military actions.
"No place is safe in Gaza. Period," he concluded.
