Netherlands Considers Resuming Funding for UNRWA

Netherlands has announced it will consider resuming funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) if the agency implements recommendations to strengthen its neutrality.

This decision follows a review conducted by a committee chaired by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, regarding whether some UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7 attack carried out by Hamas.

The review concluded that the agency possesses a "very strong" neutrality system and noted that Israel has not yet supported its allegations against UNRWA with the required evidence.

The Dutch government stated that it had already provided its annual donation to UNRWA in January last year before the allegations against the agency surfaced, but later decided to temporarily suspend funding for the agency.