Austria announced on Saturday that it would resume funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was suspended after Israel claimed that agency employees were involved in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” attack on October 7th.
A statement by the Austrian Foreign Ministry said that “after a detailed analysis of the action plan (submitted by UNRWA) to improve the organization’s performance,” Austria decided to “disburse funds” to the agency.
She added that funding worth $3.7 million has been allocated in the 2024 budget, and the first installment must be paid during the summer.
She continued, “Part of the Austrian funds will be used in the future to improve UNRWA’s internal control mechanisms.”
Austria stated that it would “closely monitor” the implementation of the action plan with other international partners, stressing that “confidence has been lost.”
The statement added that Austria has significantly increased its support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and its region since last October 7, as it provided humanitarian assistance worth about $35 million to other international relief organizations.
Many countries, including Germany, Sweden, Canada and Japan, have resumed their aid to the agency, while others are still suspending it.
Alleged accusations
Last January, Israel accused about 12 employees, out of 13,000 employees of the agency that coordinates all aid in the Gaza Strip, of participating in the “Al-Aqsa Flood” attack.
An independent evaluation group concluded at the end of last April that Israel had not provided “evidence” of the alleged accusations.
In the weeks that followed the Israeli accusations, about 15 countries, including Austria, in addition to major donors such as the United States, Germany, Sweden and Japan, suspended $450 million in funding for the agency.
