Israel disappointed by Germany's renewed cooperation with UNRWA

DPA
·2 min read
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Palestinians examine the damage to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) buildings on their way back to their homes in the wake of the Israeli army withdrew from North of Gaza City. Omar Ishaq/dpa
Palestinians examine the damage to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) buildings on their way back to their homes in the wake of the Israeli army withdrew from North of Gaza City. Omar Ishaq/dpa

Israel has expressed disappointment at the German government's announcement it will resume cooperation with the UN relief agency for Palestinians in Gaza.

"Germany's decision to renew cooperation with UNRWA in Gaza is regrettable and disappointing," wrote Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.

"Israel shared with Germany and other donor countries detailed information about hundreds of Hamas militants and many hundreds more who are members of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist organizations, all of whom are UNRWA employees. These are not just a few bad apples - this is a rotten and poisonous tree."

The German government said earlier it plans to resume its cooperation with the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip in the near future.

The decision comes after an investigation requested by the UN found no evidence to back up Israel's allegations that a dozen UNRWA employees took part in the October 7 attacks on Israel and that the agency had been thoroughly infiltrated by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

UNRWA is the main humanitarian aid provider in Gaza. Israel's allegations threw the agency into a major crisis, and led 16 major donor countries - including the two largest donors, the United States and Germany - to suspend or pause funding.

The German government said it had provided UNRWA with €200 million ($214 million) in 2023. German funding for UNRWA's operations in Gaza was suspended at the end of January, although the country in March delivered €45 million to fund UNRWA relief work in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.