Praise Sweden's Decision To Stop Funding For UNRWA, Israeli Minister: Dare And Critical

JAKARTA - Sweden's decision to stop funding for the United Nations Aid and Work Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has won praise from Israeli ministers.

The Israeli Parliament (Knesset) approved a law prohibiting UNRWA from operating in occupied Israeli and Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, on 28 October.

Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amicai Chikli praised Sweden's decision to stop funding for the UN agency for Palestinians and their descendants, saying UNRWA "has lost its legitimacy to exist" due to involvement in terror activities by members of its staff, quoted from The Times of Israel December 20.

"A bold and critical decision from the Swedish Government. UNRWA, whose personnel actively participate in the atrocities of October 7, whose facilities are centers of terror and whose schools are spreading Hamas propaganda and incitement, has lost its legitimacy to stay alive," he tweeted on social media X.

As previously reported, Sweden will no longer fund, but will provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza through other channels, state aid minister Benjamin Dousa told TV4.

Dousa said the decision was taken in response to Israel's ban, as it would make the distribution of aid to Palestine more difficult.

On the other hand, Dousa said Sweden plans to increase humanitarian aid as a whole to Gaza next year.

"There are several other organizations in Gaza, I have just been there and met some of them," he said, citing the World Food Program of the United Nations as one of the potential recipients.

It is known that the UNRWA operational ban issued by Israel will take effect at the end of January 2025.

Responding to Knesset's decision, the UN General Assembly gave its support to UNRWA this month, demanding that Israel honor the agency's mandate and "allow operations to run without restrictions".

UNRWA was founded by the UN General Assembly in 1949 after the war that broke out around the founding of Israel. The United Nations has repeatedly said there is no alternative for UNRWA, which provides assistance, health, and education for millions of Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.

Meanwhile, Israel said UNRWA staff participated in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 against Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza. Later, the UN said nine UNRWA staff might be involved and have been fired.