ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq on Wednesday announced it had allocated $25 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), after donors froze funding over allegations of some of its employees being involved in the October 7 attack on Israel. The UN agency has been shrouded in controversy since Israel began accusing its employees of complicity in the October 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas militants on the country that killed 1,160, which sparked a deadly war that has so far killed over 30,000 Palestinians in Gaza. Following Israel’s allegations, big UNRWA donors such as the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and Germany suspended funding to the agency. The total amount of frozen funds - around $450 million – was half of UNRWA’s total funding in 2023. In a speech at the Arab League, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein announced “a decision by the Iraqi Council of Ministers to allocate an amount of $25 million” to the agency “out of its belief in the importance of the agency’s efforts to alleviate the burdens of the Palestinian people by providing medical and relief supplies, which had become a necessity,” Iraq’s foreign ministry said. Hussein called on other countries to support UNRWA for the “continuation of life” in the Palestinian territories. Iraq is a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause and has on several occasions condemned the lack of global support for justice for Palestinians. During the meeting, Hussein reaffirmed “Iraq’s position in supporting the steadfastness of the Palestinian people who face policies of revenge and collective punishment at the hands of the Israeli entity’s army in Gaza on a daily basis.”
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