https://www.democracynow.org/2024/3/28/unrwa
ZitatAs Gaza Faces Famine, Israel Cuts Ties with UNRWA and U.S. Halts Funding for Critical Aid Agency
Despite a U.N.-backed report sounding the alarm on imminent famine in northern Gaza, Israeli authorities announced Sunday they will no longer approve the passage of any UNRWA food convoys into northern Gaza. “Our ability to adequately continue saving lives is really being obstructed,” says UNRWA spokesperson Tamara Alrifai. “What’s going to happen to UNRWA if we can no longer truly operate?” The decision came as President Biden signed a $1.2 trillion appropriations bill that strips funding to UNRWA for the next year. The U.S. first suspended aid to UNRWA in late January, when the Israeli government claimed 12 of the agency’s 30,000 employees were involved in Hamas’s attacks on October 7. The unsubstantiated allegation prompted top donors to cut funding to UNRWA, though many of them have resumed funding as the agency welcomes new donor countries and an unprecedented number of civil society donations. Seeing the U.S., the agency’s largest donor, “withhold funding … is a huge blow to us,” says Alrifai. “Stripping UNRWA of funding not only shrinks its ability to respond to the looming famine in Gaza, but also puts at risk the schools, the access of kids to proper education, the vaccines, the mother and child care — everything across the region.”
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ZitatAMY GOODMAN: The decision came as President Biden signed a $1.2 trillion appropriations bill that strips funding to UNRWA for the next year. The U.S. first suspended aid to UNRWA in late January when the Israeli government leveled allegations that 12 of the agency’s 30,000 employees were involved in the Hamas attacks of October 7th. The unsubstantiated allegation prompted other top donors, such as Germany, the European Union and Sweden, to cut funding to UNRWA, although a number of countries have recently announced their intention to resume funding.
For more, we go to Amman, Jordan, where we’re joined by Tamara Alrifai. She’s spokesperson for the U.N. Palestinian agency, UNRWA.
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Da wird nun sogar was mehr oder weniger positives über Deutschland gesagt. Und die Info hatte ich so auch noch nicht mitbekommen. Wurde das eher so im Stillen und möglichst ohne viel Öffentlichkeit gemacht?
ZitatTAMARA ALRIFAI: Yes, I can talk about a few countries that just over the last few days made their contributions to UNRWA — Germany, for example, which, by the way, had not really suspended its funding. It just took a little bit of a pause to think. And they just announced — Germany just announced $45 million in income to UNRWA just in the last few days. The same, Canada, Australia, Sweden and a number of other countries that had initially withheld their funding to UNRWA following these allegations around 12 of 13,000 staff members in Gaza, now are releasing their funding.
But I also want to talk about the role of Ireland or Spain, both of them having much increased their funding to UNRWA and also their political support. The European Union, our second-largest donor as a group, did release the large part of its funding to UNRWA. And also, countries like Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and, just today, Kuwait, all of them are supporting UNRWA. And again, income from private sources, from individuals and foundations, has skyrocketed since the beginning of this year, especially now during Ramadan, where many Muslims around the world are looking for a zakat-friendly way, so a way to donate as per Islamic Sharia law. We have this mechanism, and many, many Muslims from around the world, from Malaysia to Indonesia to Singapore, are donating to UNRWA.
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