British FM announces new Labour government to restore UNRWA funding
David Lammy says he ‘was appalled’ by Israeli accusations of UNRWA complicity in October 7 ‘but the UN took these allegations seriously’
Britain’s new Labour government said on Friday it would resume funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), in the first major change by the new government to British policy regarding the Israel-Hamas war.
Britain was one of several countries to halt their funding to UNRWA in January, following accusations by Israel that some agency staff were involved in Hamas’s October 7 attack, when thousands of terrorists invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, starting the ongoing war.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told parliament on Friday he was reassured that the agency, which provides education, health and other services to millions of Palestinians in Gaza and elsewhere, had taken steps to ensure it has the “highest standards of neutrality,” including improving vetting.
Lammy described UNRWA as the backbone of aid operations in Gaza, saying it helps feed about half of the territory’s population, and announced the government would provide 21 million pounds ($27 million) in new funding to the agency.
He also said that “with journalists banned from entering, aid agencies are also a vital source of information from the Strip, and their reports are devastating,” beginning with the statistic that “almost 40,000 [have been] killed.”
The figure cited by Lammy appeared to come from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, whose toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 15,000 combatants in battle and some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 attack.
He also cited accounts that malnutrition in Gaza was so severe mothers could not produce breast milk for their children, that diarrhea was found at 40 times its normal prevalence, and that polio had been detected in Gaza.
“Humanitarian aid is a moral necessity in the face of such a catastrophe, and it is aid agencies who ensure UK support reaches civilians on the ground,” he said. “UNRWA is absolutely central to these efforts. No other agency can deliver aid at the scale needed.”
The government’s change in policy comes after Labour’s commanding election victory was dented by the loss of five seats to pro-Palestinian independent candidates.
Britain joins other countries including Japan, Germany, Italy, Australia and Canada that have resumed funding to the agency after initially withdrawing their support in the wake of the October 7-related allegations.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry has charged that “more than 2,135 UNRWA employees are members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and one-fifth of the principals of UNRWA schools are Hamas activists,” saying “it is impossible to say where UNRWA ends and Hamas begins.”
Speaking to parliament on Friday, Lammy said he “was appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attacks. But the UN took these allegations seriously.”
Lammy cited a review in April, led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, that said Israel had not provided evidence for those accusations. Israel rejected the review’s conclusions.
The British foreign secretary, however, said he was reassured by Colonna’s report “that UNRWA is ensuring they meet the high standards of neutrality, and strengthening its procedures, including on vetting.”
Earlier this month, the Israeli Foreign Ministry sent a letter to UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini listing 108 employees of the agency who Israel says are Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists.
The IDF has also found a Hamas data center located directly beneath UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City, in addition to numerous findings indicating the use of the agency’s assets for terror purposes.
In February, Britain’s then-foreign minister David Cameron said he wanted an “absolute guarantee” that UNRWA would not employ staff who were willing to attack Israel.
Cameron was replaced by Lammy as foreign secretary following the Labour Party’s July 4 landslide election win.
Lammy declined on Friday to elaborate on other elements of the government’s policy with respect to the war and, when asked about potential arrest warrants for Israeli leaders by the International Criminal Court, he said the government was taking legal advice and still deciding its position.
