Israel says Canada, Sweden wrong to resume UNRWA funding
Malay MailMar 10
Sweden, Canada Resume Funding for UNRWA
The Facts
Sweden and Canada have resumed payments to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), suspended in January after Israel accused a dozen of its employees of playing a role in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.
Sweden has said it had allocated 400M kronor ($38M) to UNRWA for 2024 but would initially only send 200M kronor ($19M), while Canada announced that it would continue funding UNRWA while investigations continue.
The Spin
Pro-Israel narrative
Sweden and Canada are ignoring the involvement of UNRWA employees in terrorist activity. Their use of the smokescreen of "aid" for nefarious purposes makes it difficult for Israel to differentiate civilians from terrorists. There's no question that UNRWA has been at least partially complicit in Hamas' atrocious actions, which is why donor nations must seek a comprehensive review of the agency and its purpose before reviving payments.
Pro-Palestine narrative
Israel has, to date, failed to provide evidence of any UNRWA employees' involvement in the Oct. 7 attack. However, there's evidence that it coerced several agency employees into "confessing" their Hamas links. Depriving UNRWA of funds amounts to collective punishment against Palestinians, which is why it must continue to receive funding, or else millions of Palestinians in Gaza — who benefit from the agency's infrastructure — will be forced to endure life-threatening conditions.
Nerd narrative
There's a 66% chance that an independent review will find UNRWA staff involvement in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, according to the Metaculus prediction community.