Johannesburg,South Africa

U.S and its allies has decided to suspend funding for the United Nations Agency for Palestinians Refugees(UNRWA) based on Israeli unverified allegations as an excuse.

Israel has accused 12 out of 30,000 UNRWA's employees being involved in the October 7 attack but presented no evidence to support its claim.

These countries are angered by the decision of the top UN court which rule in favour of South Africa's case against Israel which is seen violating its obligations as a member of Geneva Convention through its massacre against innocent civilians in Gaza.

The United States announced on Friday just few hours after the International Court of Justice(ICJ) decision to force Israel to stop killing and starving in Palestinians in Gaza.

It is not surprising to see U.S suspending the funding because since October last year has been in the forefront supporting the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in Gaza.

U.S is the main sponsor of the terror attacks which are taking place in Gaza and has been supplying Israel with all kinds of weapons to exterminate innocent people.

Countries such as UK,Canada,Australia,Italy,Netherlands,Germany,Scotland and Finland chose to follow their master to suspend the funding just to make sure that Palestinians are starve to death.

Norway and Ireland has confirmed that would not suspend the funding and Switzerland made no decision till accusations are clarified.

All these countries who reacted harshly to entertain unproven allegations did not bother themselves to condemn Israeli government for slaughtering more than 26,000 civilians in just three months.

UNRWA is on the brink of collapse

The UNRWA Commissioner-General,Philippe Lazzarini has appealed to all countries which has decided to suspend funding to reconsider their decisions because without those funds millions of Palestinians would die due to famine.

"Nine countries have as of today temporarily suspended their funding to UNRWA.These decisions threaten our ongoing humanitarian work across the region including and especially in the Gaza Strip.

"It is shocking to see a suspension of funds to the Agency in reaction to allegations against a small group of staff,especially given the immediate action that UNRWA took by terminating their contracts and asking for a transparent independent investigation.The United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services(OIOS),the highest investigative authority in the UN system,has already been seized of this very serious matter.

UNRWA is the primary humanitarian agency in Gaza,with over 2 million depending on it for their sheer survival.Many are hungry as the clock is ticking towards a looming famine.The Agency runs shelters for over 1 million people and provides food and primary healthcare even at the height of the hostilities,"said Lazzarini on Saturday.

Lazzarini emphasised that the livelihoods of Palestinians in Gaza only depending to the UN's agency and even the entire region.

"In its ruling yesterday,the International Court of Justice ordered that "Israel must take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip".These measures are aimed at preventing irreparable damage to the rights of Palestinians.

The only way that this can be done is through cooperation with international partners,especially UNRWA as the largest humanitarian actor in Gaza.Some 3,000 core staff out of 13,000 in Gaza continue to report to work,giving their communities a lifeline which can collapse anytime now due to lack of funding,"he continued.

He also pointed out that the suspension of funding based on allegations is totally wrong and clarified that UNRWA has nothing to hide and investigation would reveal the facts.

"It would be immensely irresponsible to sanction an Agency and an entire community it serves because of allegations of criminal acts against some individuals,especially at a time of war,displacement and political crises in the region.

"UNRWA shares the list of all its staff with host countries every year,including Israel.The Agency never received any concerns on specific staff members.

"Meanwhile,an investigation by OIOS into the heinous allegations will establish the facts.Moreover,as I announced on 17 January,an independent review by external experts will help UNRWA strengthen its framework for the strict adherence of all staff to the humanitarian principles.

I urge countries who have suspended their funding to re-consider their decisions before UNRWA is forced to suspend its humanitarian response.The lives of people in Gaza depend on this support and so does regional stability,"Lazzarini concluded.