Romania suspends payments to UNRWA

Romania has suspended its voluntary payments to the United Nations' Palestinian aid agency (UNRWA), the foreign ministry (MAE) said on Monday, joining a series of countries to do so pending a full investigation into accusations that its employees were involved in the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Reuters correspondent reports.   "We express our full confidence that the U.N. investigation will clarify the situation as soon as possible," the ministry said. "Until the investigation is concluded, the ministry will ... not make any new voluntary contributions to UNRWA."   MAE also said it welcomes the swift response of UNRWA leadership to immediately terminate the contracts of the individuals concerned. It went on to express full confidence that the UN investigations will clarify the situation.   “Until the conclusion of the investigation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not launch procedures for new voluntary contributions to UNRWA. The needs of Palestinian civilians will continue to be a priority for Romania, and we will maintain our coordination with our partners, including at the European level,” the statement added.    The decision comes after a shocking revelation that agency staff were allegedly involved in the attacks on Israel. "The Israeli authorities have provided UNRWA with information about the alleged involvement of several UNRWA employees in the horrific attacks in Israel on October 7," said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA's Commissioner-General.   Following these allegations, ten other countries have announced so far that they are suspending funding for the UN agency.    The United States immediately announced on Friday the temporary cessation of any future financial contributions to UNRWA. Similar decisions were then taken by Canada, Australia, Italy, the United Kingdom, Finland, the Netherlands, and Germany.   The agency announced that it had dismissed 12 employees, according to the United States.    In 2022, funds from the UN budget and contributions from other UN entities to the agency amounted to USD 44.6 million.   The EU is demanding an “urgent” audit of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA and says it is reviewing funding, following Israeli allegations that some staff participated in Hamas’s October 7 attack.   The audit should be led by European Commission-appointed experts and be conducted alongside a UN investigation into the claims, commission spokesman Eric Mamer tells journalists. The EU was the agency’s third largest funder in 2022, behind the US and Germany, which have already announced funding freezes.