Germany’s decision to renew UNRWA funding ‘regrettable and disappointing’ – Foreign Ministry

Israel has called Germany’s decision to renew funding to UNRWA “regrettable and disappointing,” in a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

“Israel shared with Germany and other donor countries detailed information about hundreds of Hamas militants and many hundreds more who are members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations, all of whom are UNRWA employees,” the statement says.

“These are not just a few bad apples – this is a rotten and poisonous tree… Transferring German taxpayers’ money to an organization in which such a high percentage of its employees are Hamas members — an organization that is proscribed as a terrorist organization in Germany — will not contribute to promoting the security and welfare of the residents of the region, both Israelis and Palestinians alike,” the statement continues, insisting that “UNRWA is part of the problem and not part of the solution.”

Germany announced plans to resume cooperation with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) earlier today, signaling a resumption of funding that was frozen after Israel accused 12 UNRWA staff members of participating in Hamas’s October 7 massacre.

The allegations prompted 16 donor states, including the biggest, the United States, to freeze some $450 million of funds, a blow to UNRWA’s operations as it grapples with the humanitarian crisis unleashed by Israel’s assault on Gaza.

The move by Germany, UNRWA’s second biggest donor, follows the publication earlier this week of a review led by the former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna into the UN agency’s procedures for ensuring adherence to humanitarian principles of neutrality.