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The country is one of the first to do so following Israeli accusations that some of the organization’s 13,000 employees in the Gaza Strip were involved in Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7.
– Canada is canceling the temporary suspension of funding to UNRWA, Aid Minister Ahmed Hussen said in a statement on Friday.
The goal is to ensure that more can be done to meet the needs of Palestinian civilians, according to Hussen. He says Canada always takes allegations against UNRWA very seriously.
Norwegian press
Canada stopped payments on January 26. We don’t know exactly when they will resume.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has already said Canada is awaiting the results of a UN investigation into Israel’s accusations against UNRWA.
Israel’s accusations led a total of 16 countries to temporarily suspend their support for the United Nations. Norway, which is a major contributor to UNRWA, has maintained its funding and provided NOK 275 million in February.
Norwegian authorities have also tried to convince other countries to resume their support for the organization.
– I think that a large number of countries which stopped their contributions have changed their minds, declared Foreign Minister Espen Barh Eide (Ap) at the beginning of the week.
He added that these countries have realized that they “cannot punish the entire Palestinian community.”
Danger of starvation
In the Gaza Strip, UNRWA runs schools, health clinics and social services. Additionally, the organization plays a key role in providing emergency assistance to hundreds of thousands of people currently on the brink of starvation.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called UNRWA the backbone of all humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip.
After months of war, the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian area is described as catastrophic. At least ten children died of starvation in hospitals in the Gaza Strip, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced in early March.
Last week, the European Commission announced that it would transfer a sum of NOK 570 million to UNRWA. The money had been frozen and put on hold following Israel’s accusations.
