EU top diplomat says defunding UN Palestinian agency dangerous

The European Union’s top diplomat says cutting funds to UNRWA would put hundreds of thousands of lives at risk, despite allegations that some of the UN Palestinian refugee agency’s staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

A string of countries, including the United States, Britain, and Italy, have paused funding to the aid agency, which has opened an investigation into several of its thousands of employees and severed ties with those people.

UNRWA on Thursday said its entire operations in the Middle East, not only in Gaza, will likely be forced to shut down by the end of February, if its funding remains suspended.

“Defunding UNRWA would be both disproportionate and dangerous,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell writes in a blog post.

“The allegations against UNRWA staff are serious and no one responsible should go unpunished. However, UNRWA reacted immediately and the contracts of the accused staff members were terminated. An investigation by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services is underway.” Borrell writes.

“While the emotions prompting suspensions of funding are understandable, political responsibility has to look beyond emotions and consider the consequences of such a step.”