U.S., U.K. among 8 countries pausing funding to UNRWA amid allegations 12 employees were part of Oct. 7 attack
NBCJan 14
UN Chief Urges Countries to Reconsider as Funding for Palestinian Aid Collapses
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The Facts
UN Secretary-General António Guterres this weekend urged 10 countries who withdrew funding from the primary aid agency in Gaza to reconsider, stating that Palestinians should not be penalized as a whole for the actions of a few aid workers.
This comes after the UN's Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) reported Friday that, according to Israeli authorities, there were allegations that several UNRWA staff participated in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
The Spin
Pro-Palestine narrative
The decision to halt all funding to the UNRWA will push Gaza to the brink of famine. Israel has already hindered the agency from helping the Palestinian people by bombing several of its locations, but now the humanitarian body could run out of all supplies within a month. This is not about punishing Hamas but starving Palestinians.
Pro-Israel narrative
Reports into what some of these UNRWA staff did on the day of Oct. 7 are appalling, and at the very least, fall way below the standard expected by the UN. Funding to UNRWA should be halted until this mess is cleaned up and the agency is replaced with a more appropriate humanitarian delivery structure.