All Countries Except For England, Austria And Switzerland Continue To Fund UNRWA

JAKARTA - All countries, except Britain, Austria, and Switzerland, are continuing funding to the UN agency that deals with Palestinian refugees aka UNRWA.

This was conveyed by UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini during a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland. He added that the United States has not yet decided whether to continue funding or not until March 2025.

The United States clearly indicated that it would freeze the suspension until March 2025. Britain has not made a decision because congress is prohibited," said Lazzarini.

He said that until now no decision has been made by Austria and Switzerland.

"So the three countries are still suspending, all other countries have continued," he said.

Regarding the suspension of Italy, he said that the country had not contributed to UNRWA since the new government came to power.

"With the announcement of a new contribution to UNRWA, we can continue operating until June and plan to continue operations until August," he said.

Lazzarini explained that the USD 257 million or around IDR 4.1 trillion fund was still suspended.

He also said Tel Aviv had not issued an evacuation order to Palestinians in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip amid plans for an Israeli military offensive.

"People have not been asked to flee Rafah, but if there is no agreement this week, it (Israel's attack) could happen at any time," he said.

Lazzarini added that there is currently tremendous anxiety in Gaza about the planned military offensive.

Regarding food conditions, he said more food is now available in the market, but it is not easily accessible because no cash is circulating. The amount of food is not enough to deal with hunger.

He stressed that UNRWA still does not have access to northern Gaza. Whenever his party dispatched a convoy of aid to the north from the south, they were rejected by Israel.

In addition, the process of obtaining a delivery permit elsewhere in the Palestinian enclave is complicated and very impractical, said Lazzarini.