Britain wants an “absolute guarantee” that the UN’s Palestinian aid agency will not employ staff who may be willing to attack Israel, Lord David Cameron has said.
The Foreign Secretary said the Government wants assurances that “this can’t happen again” after it froze UNRWA funding over accusations that some of its workers took part in Hamas’ October 7 assault.
It joined the US and several other donor countries in temporarily pausing support while a review takes place.
Speaking on a visit to Sofia on Wednesday, the Foreign Secretary said: “What we’re looking for is an absolute guarantee that this can’t happen again.
“Let’s be clear here that it looks as if there were people working for UNRWA who took part in the October 7 attacks on Israel.
“That is unacceptable. That is why we’ve paused our funding. That’s why these reviews are taking place. We need them to take place quickly, because many UNRWA staff do an absolutely vital job inside Gaza, where they’re the only network for distributing aid to make sure that we get aid to people that need it very, very badly.”
Since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas’s attack, UNRWA has used its facilities across Gaza to shelter and help to hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has appealed to donor countries for a restoration of funding and new donations amid large-scale death and destruction.
Earlier this month, a Foreign Office minister dismissed claims at Westminster that the UK has abandoned Palestinians in Gaza, saying it was focused on “practical solutions” to save lives.
Independent crossbencher Baroness Gohir had accused the Government of “contributing to their (Palestinians’) collective punishment by suspending aid to UNRWA.”
Speaking in Parliament, Lord Ahmad said: “Palestinian civilians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis. Indeed, it is unfolding before our very eyes.
“Irrespective of where you stand on this conflict, the loss of any innocent life is something we should collectively condemn.
“We have trebled our aid commitments, so I do not agree with Baroness Gohir that we have abandoned the Palestinians, far from it.”
It comes after Israeli allegations that 12 of UNRWA’s 13,000 Gaza employees participated in the October 7 attacks against Israel, which set off the war.
Mr Guterres has said the accusations are “horrific” and launched an investigation, but has urged donor countries to reconsider their suspension of support as the conflict persists.