VIENNA, Jan 29 Austria suspends payments to UN agency for the Near East Palestine Refugee Relief and Works Organization (UNRWA), a UN agency that supports the provision of emergency relief and human development for Palestinian refugees, the Austrian TV channel ORF reported, citing the Republic's Foreign Ministry.
“Following the United States, Germany and Japan, Austria is also suspending funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip (UNRWA). The UN agency is suspected that twelve of its employees may have been involved in a major attack on Israel carried out by an Islamist terrorist group. organization Hamas on October 7,» the TV channel reported.
The media quotes a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic, which says that the accusations are deeply “shocking and cause extreme concern.”
«We call on UNRWA and the United Nations to conduct a comprehensive, prompt and complete investigation into these allegations. The United Nations must be above criticism, including in the interests of its own credibility. Those who may have been involved in the terrorist attack on October 7 must be brought to justice,» the Foreign Ministry noted.
In this regard, all contributions to UNRWA were suspended «until all these allegations are fully clarified and the consequences are clear.» It is clarified that Austria acts in coordination with international partners.
It is noted that the Austrian contribution to UNRWA is divided into an annual contribution of approximately 400,000 euros and project-related contributions of three million euros per year per health project. UNRWA employs 30,000 staff, 13,000 of them in the Gaza Strip.
On October 7, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement. After this, the organization’s fighters entered the border areas in southern Israel, where they opened fire on both military and civilians, and also took more than 200 hostages. In Israel, according to the latest data from the authorities, about 1.2 thousand people were killed, this number includes civilians, soldiers, foreign citizens and workers, and it was also reported that more than 5 thousand were injured.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within a few days, the Israeli military took control of all settlements near the border with Gazoia and began launching air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the sector. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was stopped.
At the end of October 2023, the ground phase of the Israeli operation in the enclave began. Gaza City was surrounded by Israeli ground forces, and the enclave was effectively divided into southern and northern parts.
The number of victims of Israeli shelling of the Gaza Strip since October 7 has exceeded 26 thousand, more than 62 thousand people were injured.
Hamas claimed that there were about 200-250 hostages in the Gaza Strip. After the end of the truce, Israeli authorities announced that 126 Israelis and 11 foreigners remained hostage with Hamas, and 110 abducted were released.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the settlement of the Middle East crisis is possible only on the basis of a “two-state” formula approved by the UN Security Council, which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, related to the territorial interests of the parties, has been a source of tension and clashes in the region for many decades. A UN decision with the active role of the USSR in 1947 determined the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli one was created.