Germany to resume funding UNRWA Palestinian agency

STORY: Germany plans to resume funding of the UN Palestinian agency, or UNRWA.

That's according to a statement from the country’s foreign and development ministries on Wednesday (April 24).

Earlier this year, Israel accused hundreds of UNRWA staff of being military operatives in so-called terrorist groups in Gaza.

A number of countries including the U.S. and Britain then paused payments to UNRWA, a severe blow to the agency that provides education, health and aid to millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

But a new report released on Monday concluded that Israel had not provided enough evidence to back up its claims.

The review was led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, looking into UNRWA’s ability to ensure neutrality.

"Overall, the findings of the review are that UNRWA has in place a very significant number of mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with the humanitarian principle of neutrality.”

A separate UN probe is also investigating Israel’s accusation that 12 UNRWA staff took part in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks.

Norway, which is a major donor to UNRWA, on Tuesday called on donors to resume funding, arguing that the donation cuts have put the population of Gaza at risk.

Ten countries have resumed their donation following the review.

The U.S., UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, and Lithuania have not yet done so.

A U.N. spokesperson on Monday said UNRWA currently only had enough funding to pay for operations until June.