DUBLIN: The UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said on Thursday it faces a cash crunch from next month that will only get worse in April if funding suspended by a number of countries does not resume.
Israel has said UNRWA, which has helped Palestinians for more than 70 years, is not fit for purpose and major donors have suspended funding after allegations that 12 of UNRWA’s thousands of Palestinian employees were suspected of involvement in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that started the Gaza war.
“We will hit a negative cashflow as from March and then it will be accelerated in April unless this frozen contribution is unlocked,” UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini told Irish national broadcaster RTE before a meeting in Dublin with the foreign minister.
Negative cashflow is when an organization has more money outgoing than incoming, impacting its ability to sustain itself.
Lazzarini has held extensive consultations with donors, including a trip to Gulf countries and Brussels, in recent days to try to plug UNRWA’s funding shortfall of some $440 million.
Some UNRWA donors, such as the United States and Britain, have indicated they will not resume support until the UN’s internal investigation into the allegations ends. A preliminary report is due to be published in the next several weeks.
“If we don’t get (the funding), we will be in trouble and our ability to operate will be compromised,” Lazzarini told RTE, calling on the donors to review their decision.
Lazzarini said earlier this week that calls for UNRWA to be dismantled were short-sighted and terminating its mandate would deepen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Ireland to give UNRWA 20 mln euros
Ireland announced 20 million euros ($21.46 million) in support for the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) on Thursday and urged countries that have suspended funding to resume and expand support to the agency.
UNRWA, which provides health care, education and other services, has been pitched into crisis since Israel alleged that 12 of its 13,000 staff in Gaza were involved in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel that precipitated the Israel-Hamas war.
The allegations prompted a number of countries to suspend funding, including the United States, its largest donor. Dublin contributed 18 million euros directly to UNRWA in 2023, part of 36 million euros provided to the Palestinian people.
Ireland has long been a champion of Palestinian rights and its announcement follows a commitment by Spain last week to send UNRWA an additional 3.5 million euros in aid, and an announcement of an extra one million euros from Portugal.
“I urge other donors to resume and expand support to UNRWA so that it can deliver for the millions of Palestinian refugees in need,” Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said in a statement after meeting UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini in Dublin.
