“The UK is appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned,” the UK Foreign Office said in a statement.
“The UK is temporarily pausing any future funding of UNWRA whilst we review these concerning allegations,” it added.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Earlier, the US State Department announced that it was suspending additional funding to the UN agency, saying it was “extremely troubled” by the allegations of UN staff involvement in the attacks.
Mr Lazzarini added: “To protect the agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members.”
This comes just days after Ms Wong announced a near doubling of the humanitarian funding directed to “conflict-affected populations”, “with a focus on women and children”, in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Palestinian Authority’s minister for civilian affairs, Hussein Al-Sheikh, said the decision by some countries to pause support for the vital UN agency “entails great political and humanitarian relief risks”.
Mr al-Sheikh urged Western donors to immediately reverse their decision, adding: “We need the maximum support for this international organisation.”
On Friday, an adviser to the Israeli prime minister told the BBC that the 7 October Hamas attacks had involved “people who are on their [UNRWA] salaries”.
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