Foreign Secretary David Lammy has announced that the UK will restart funding to UNRWA – the United Nations agency which supports Palestinian refugees.
In statement to MPs today, Lammy said UK aid funding to Gaza is a “moral necessity in the face of such a catastrophe.”
The UK’s funding for UNRWA was paused earlier this year in light of unproven allegations by Israel that 12 staff were involved in the October 7 attack.
An internal UN investigation into allegations related to that attack is ongoing. But a separate UN review, published in April, found that Israel had not provided evidence for its claims hundreds of UNRWA staff were members of “terror groups.”
The Foreign Secretary also reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire to secure the release of Israeli hostages and end the suffering in Gaza, following his visit to the region earlier this week.
In his statement to MPs, the Foreign Secretary outlined that the UK will release £21 million to support UNRWA’s lifesaving work in Gaza and the provision of basic services in the region.
This funding will go towards UNRWA’s flash appeal for Gaza and the West Bank, which focuses its resources on emergency food, shelter and other support for three million people, as well as its wider work supporting six million Palestinian refugees across the region.
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David Lammy said: “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. UNRWA is absolutely central to these efforts. No other agency can get aid into Gaza at the scale needed.
“I was appalled by the allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7th October attacks. We are reassured that after Catherine Colonna’s independent review, UNRWA is ensuring they meet the highest standards of neutrality and strengthening its procedures, including on vetting. UNRWA has acted. Partners like Japan, the EU and Norway have now acted. This Government will act too.”
Today’s announcement brings the UK into line with partners such as Germany, the EU, Sweden, Japan, France and other donors.
UNRWA is the main provider of humanitarian relief within Gaza, and other UN and humanitarian actors depend on UNRWA’s distribution network to get aid to those who need it most. UNRWA has provided 1.15 million people facing devastating hunger in Gaza with food parcels.
The Foreign Secretary also set out in parliament today his wider plan to reach an end to the conflict in Gaza. He made clear the immediate priority is a ceasefire complied with by both sides, the release of all hostages and a surge of aid into Gaza.
The Foreign Secretary said to parliament: “Britain wants to see an immediate ceasefire. The fighting must stop. The hostages must be released. Much, much more aid has got to enter Gaza…. This horror must end, now.”
In the long-term, the Foreign Secretary outlined that the UK is focused on creating a pathway towards a two-state solution which guarantees security and stability for Israelis and Palestinians.
He made clear that any long-term solution must include a crackdown on the rise in settler violence and settlement expansion and a reformed Palestinian Authority, given the powers and resources it needs to govern effectively.
Meanwhile, the head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has welcomed the new British government’s decision to restore funding as a “testament to the lifesaving and human development work of our teams.”
Philippe Lazzarini said that the agency is fully committed to implement recommendations by an independent report to increase its transparency and accountability and further ensure neutrality.
“This announcement comes at a critical time as the agency continues to come under harsh and unprecedented attacks,” he said.
Israel had said more than 2,135 employees of the agency – out of a total of 13,000 in Gaza – are members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, proscribed as terrorist organisations by Israel, the UK, U.S. and other countries.
But a review by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna found Israel had “yet to provide supporting evidence” for its claims.
However, the review concluded the agency must do more to improve its neutrality, staff vetting and transparency.
