Canada will resume funding to the UN Palestinian refugee agency, International Aid Minister Ahmed Hussen said on Friday, becoming one of the first international donors to announce such a move.
Ottawa paused funding on January 26 after Israel alleged some of the staff at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) agency were involved in the Hamas-led October 7 attack.
“Canada will be lifting its temporary pause on funding to (UNRWA),” Hussen said in a statement, but did not say exactly when this would happen. “UNRWA plays a vital role in Gaza.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that Ottawa was waiting for the results of an internal United Nations probe into the Israeli accusations that 12 UNRWA staff — including one who was seen on CCTV abducting the body of an Israeli — took part in the onslaught in which Palestinian terrorists killed some 1,200 people and kidnapped 253, sparking Israel’s ongoing military offensive against Hamas in Gaza.
A total of 16 donors, including the United States and Britain, paused their funding to UNRWA.
After the accusations, the UN fired the accused employees who were still alive and launched an internal investigation. Israel has since further alleged that 450 UNRWA employees were members of terror groups in Gaza and last week released audio recordings incriminating two more agency employees of allegedly joining in the assault.
Hussen said Canada had reviewed the interim report of the UN investigation and looked forward to the final version.
“Canada is resuming its funding to UNRWA so more can be done to respond to the urgent needs of Palestinian civilians. Canada will continue to take the allegations against some of UNRWA’s staff extremely seriously and we will remain closely engaged with UNRWA and the UN to pursue accountability and reform,” he said.
Hussen was set to announce the decision on Wednesday but delayed it until Friday, for reasons that were not immediately clear.
The Canadian government is due to contribute $25 million Canadian ($19 million) to UNRWA in April and did not miss a payment as a result of the pause.
Canada will also send $100,000 Canadian (US$ 74,000) to the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization for supplies including food and blankets to be delivered to the territory. The Canadian military will also send 300 cargo parachutes to Jordan to help with airdrops of critical supplies.
Two UN investigations into Israel’s allegations were already underway when the European Union said last Friday it will give 50 million euros ($54 million) to UNRWA after the agency agreed to allow EU-appointed experts to audit the way it screens staff to identify extremists.
Israel panned the EU move, with the Foreign Ministry saying, “The disappointing decision gives legitimacy to UNRWA employees’ involvement in terror activities and cooperation with Hamas.”
The ministry noted that the EU was reopening the spigot before a UN probe into the Israeli claims of UNRWA bias, and vowed to present donor countries and the UN investigators with all the information it has on the subject in the coming weeks.