Sweden announces end to UNRWA funding

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
Today 15:07

The move follows a new Israeli law banning UNRWA operations, further complicating efforts to assist families in Gaza who are battling famine amid a brutal Israeli aggression that has continued for over two months.

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A facility of the UNRWA is pictured in the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on January 30,2024. (AFP)

Sweden has announced it will no longer provide funding to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). Instead, the Nordic nation will channel humanitarian aid to Gaza through alternative organizations, according to Aid Minister Benjamin Dousa, who spoke with Swedish broadcaster TV4 on Friday.

The decision comes after "Israel" passed a law in late October prohibiting the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) from working in "Israel", further hindering its efforts to aid the Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

Dousa claimed that the Israeli ban would complicate Sweden's ability to deliver aid through UNRWA. "There are several other organizations in Gaza; I have just been there and met several of them," he said, citing the UN World Food Programme as a potential partner.

He further said that Sweden intends to increase its overall humanitarian assistance to Gaza in the coming year.

Earlier today, a senior United Nations (UN) official lambasted "Israel" for blocking off aid from the Gaza Strip, saying that Israeli policies have forced humanitarians to make "horrible decisions."

In a virtual news conference, Georgios Petropoulos, the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) sub-office in Gaza, said, "Israeli authorities and military seem unwilling to open multiple access points at once," for humanitarian efforts into the Gaza Strip, which has impeded aid deliveries.

Petropoulos pointed to multiple issues that have slowed down aid deliveries, including strict Israeli restrictions on items, looting of aid in Israeli-controlled areas, and limited access via Israeli checkpoints.

He also explained that selective restrictions and denials of humanitarian aid to certain areas in the besieged territory indicate the "weaponization" of aid by Israeli authorities. He revealed that restrictions are being placed on the delivery of water and food to areas in the North governorate, while these same items are allowed in other areas. Petropoulos said that these denials by Israeli authorities show that aid is being used to "move" people, stressing that civilians have a right to choose where to be.

UNGA adopts two draft resolutions for ceasefire in Gaza, backs UNRWA

Last week, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and supporting the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), which "Israel" has sought to abolish.

The votes in the 193-nation World Organization were 158-9, with 13 abstentions, to urge an immediate ceasefire, and 159-9, with 11 abstentions, in favor of the UNRWA agency. The voting followed two days of speeches that overwhelmingly called for an end to "Israel's" war on Gaza.

"Israel" and the US voted against the resolutions.

While Security Council resolutions are legally binding, General Assembly resolutions are not, despite representing global opinion. There are no vetoes in this parliament.

The resolution urges "an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire" and also calls for "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."

Although non-binding, the resolution further demands "immediate access" to extensive humanitarian aid for Gaza's population, particularly in the heavily blockaded northern region.