Antonio Guterres appeals to donor countries to continue assisting the UN organization UNRWA. Israel accuses some UNRWA workers of participating in the terrorist attack.
Several countries, including Finland, have announced that they will suspend UNRWA’s funding because some of the organization’s employees are suspected of having participated in the terrorist organization Hamas’s attack on Israel in October.
Guterres says that he understands the concern of donor countries and that he himself is horrified by the suspicions. According to him, there must be consequences for the suspected act.
– But tens of thousands of men and women, many of whom work in the most dangerous conditions, will not be punished. The needs of those in need must be met, Guterres said.
UNRWA has dismissed several of its staff following Israel’s accusation that 12 UNRWA staff were involved in the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.
Israel said yesterday that it would seek to end UNRWA’s activities in Gaza after the war.
According to the UN Secretary General, UNRWA, which has assisted the Palestinians for decades, may have to wind down its activities as early as February if the assistance is stopped.
UNRWA is in 1949, an organization focused on helping Palestinian refugees. The organization has 13,000 employees in Gaza, says news agency AP. Most of them are Palestinians.
The international court under the UN said on Friday that Israel must do everything possible to prevent a genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and to allow more aid to Gaza.
Sources: AFP, AP