In a report published by Aljazeera, the UN has announced the creation of a new independent panel to assess the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees.
The Aid agency has come under fire from Israel which has accused 12 of the panel's staff members were involved in the Oct.7 attack that killed 1,139 people mostly civilians and was the triggering point for the ongoing conflict.
Funding Suspended
Many countries have already suspended funding to the agency including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Sweden. The panel itself is to be spearheaded by former French Minister Catherine Colonna who will be working with three European organizations. Those organizations are the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden, the Chr Michelsen Institute in Norway, and the Danish Institute For Human Rights. The investigation's overall goal is to "assess whether the agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches when they are made"
The panel is set to submit an interim report to Guterres in late March along with a final one to follow in April. The report is to consist of potential recommendations for "improving and strengthening" the agency's actions. The report also states that the assessment is different from the internal probe that the United Nations launched last month following the accusations made against the 12 staff members. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone on record saying that the UN has been "totally infiltrated" by Hamas and has been this way since 2007. However, UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini has stated that he looks forward to the findings of the review group and also stated "I welcome the appointment by the UN Secretary-General of an independent review group to assess how UNRWA ensures neutrality and responds to allegations of serious breaches. I look forward to the conclusion & recommendations of the report which will be made public" Lazzarini made this statement on the social media platform X formerly known as Twitter.
However, the Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz has said that his government has proof that ties the agency to terrorism. Katz also made the following statement on X as well "We will submit all evidence highlighting UNRWA's ties to terrorism and its harmful effects on regional stability. It is imperative that this committee brings the truth to light" Palestinian officials have fired back at the allegations and have accused Israel of presenting false information to ruin UNRWA's reputation. In light of the suspended funding, Lazzarini has chosen to visit three Gulf states to rev up funding and has warned that it might have to stop its operations by February if the funding does not resume. The report also cites an article from Reuter where spokesperson Juliette Touma made the following statement "We are hoping that paused funding will reconsider and others will step forward as well. In response, Spain's foreign minister, José Manuel Albares has gone on record saying that his country will be providing 3.5m euros to help the agency maintain its operations in the short term 3.5m is equivalent to $3.8 million.
In light of the ongoing conflict, a myriad of Gaza civilians have been displaced or stranded in hospitals as a result and it would seem that it will be quiet some time before the civilians or even the wider territory will receive any form of aid.
