Britain’s new Labour government intends to resume funding to the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA.
This is an indication of how the new government will approach the Israel-Palestinian conflict after winning power earlier this month.
Britain was one of the many countries that halted funding to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) following accusations by Israel that some agency staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war.
The government’s change in policy comes after Labour’s commanding election victory was dented by the loss of five seats to pro-Palestinian independent candidates.
David Lammy, U.K Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs told Parliament he was reassured that the agency, which provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians, had taken steps to ensure it has the “highest standards of neutrality”, including improving vetting.
Lammy said the UNRWA is the backbone of aid operations in Gaza helping feed about half of the territory’s population, and the government would provide 21 million pounds ($27 million) in new funding to the agency.
Lammy said that due to acute malnutrition in Gaza, mothers are not producing breast milk for their children and the rates of diarrhoea are 40 times their normal rates. Polio has also been detected.
“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,” he said. “UNRWA is absolutely central to these efforts. No other agency can deliver aid at the scale needed.”
Labour faced criticism after initially appearing to condone Israel’s tactics in Gaza, including cutting off water and power, and only gradually shifting the party’s position towards supporting an immediate ceasefire.
Israel has accused UNRWA of complicity with Hamas, saying the militant Islamist group was embedded within the infrastructure of the U.N. agency.
A review, led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, published in April said Israel had not provided evidence for its accusations that hundreds of staff are members of militant groups.
Some of the countries that have resumed funding to the agency are Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan.
In February, Britain’s then-foreign minister David Cameron said he wanted an “absolute guarantee” that UNRWA would not employ staff who were willing to attack Israel.
Lammy replaced Cameron as Foreign minister following the Labour Party’s July 4 landslide election victory.
Asked if Britain would proceed with efforts to question whether the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, Lammy said the government was taking legal advice.
(With Inputs From Reuters)
