Austria announced on Monday it would suspend all funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) following Israeli allegations that staff members may have been involved in the bloody Hamas attack on October 7.
• Also read: October 7 attack: UNRWA parts ways with “several” employees accused by Israel
Nine donor countries, including the USA, Germany and Japan, have announced similar measures in recent days.
“The allegations about the alleged involvement of UNRWA collaborators are deeply shocking and extremely worrying,” the Austrian Foreign Ministry responded in a press release, calling for “a full, rapid and accurate investigation into these allegations.”
“The credibility of the United Nations is at stake and must be above suspicion,” he said.
Pending “clarification,” Austria has decided “in agreement with its international partners” to “temporarily suspend any new payments to UNRWA” while continuing its humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in Gaza and the region.
In total, the Alpine country has released 13 million euros since October 7th.
Austria is a neutral EU member state that, like all Arab countries, has long maintained an exceptional dialogue in the Western camp with Iran.
But under the leadership of former conservative Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, it has moved closer to Israel in recent years.
Israel on Friday accused several UNRWA employees of involvement in the Hamas attack on Israeli soil.
Unrwa, in turn, responded to the Israeli allegations by dismissing those involved and promising a thorough investigation and, if such involvement was proven, a trial. However, Israel still announced its decision to ban the agency from further work in Gaza after the war.
Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack killed about 1,140 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
In response, Israel vowed to “destroy” the Islamist movement, which it, like the United States and the European Union, classifies as terrorist, and launched a huge military operation in Gaza that left 26,422 people dead, the vast majority women and children and teenagers said the latest report from the Hamas Ministry of Health on Sunday.