After allegations of links to the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, country after country has suspended its support for the Palestinian UN organization. On Tuesday, it was announced that Sweden’s aid agency Sida is also choosing the same path.
According to the Social Democrats’ foreign policy spokesperson Morgan Johansson, the decision is “catastrophic”.
– You have to remember the extreme situation Gaza is in. Hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of an acute famine. Breaking up Unrwa in this way will cost many people their lives, he says in SVT’s Aktuellt.
Unrwa by far the largest in Gaza
Sweden’s aid to Gaza is planned for 2024 to amount to SEK 400 million. According to the government, the money should instead be distributed among other humanitarian organizations in Gaza. But Unrwa’s aid efforts are greater than all the other organizations combined.
– If you think that you can replace the 30,000 employees at Unrwa with other organizations without it having enormous effects, then you think wrong, says Morgan Johansson and continues:
– I am in favor of punishing the people who were involved, but not punishing hundreds of thousands of people.
“Are there other actors”
Sweden’s Aid Minister Johan Forssell (M), however, believes that the consequences need not be so great.
– We have a responsibility towards people in Gaza and it is a terrible humanitarian situation, but that is no reason against making sure that the money goes to the right things. We know that there are other actors and that it will be possible to distribute aid there.
He points out that this is also a well-balanced choice by Sida – for the time being.
– When this type of serious information arrives, a proper investigation is carried out and no payments are made during that time. It is not unique to Gaza, says Johan Forssell (M).
The government has asked Sida to submit a report on aid in Gaza on 15 February. Even Unrwa themselves have an ongoing investigation.