Ireland has pledged 20 million euros ($16.7 million) in funding to a U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees after the United States and its allies suspended aid to the agency based on baseless Israeli claims. .
On Thursday, Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defense Michael Martin confirmed the country’s insistence on continuing support to Irish government institutions.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Dublin with UNWRA chief Philip Lazzarini, Mr Martin said the agency’s work was a “lifeline” for displaced Palestinians. . In Gaza. “There is no substitute for UNRWA’s operations in Gaza,” said Ireland’s top diplomat.
Led by the United States, many states, including Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Japan, Austria, and Romania, withdrew their financial support for the agency.
The move comes as 12 of the Gaza Strip’s 13,000 personnel were arrested on October 7, 2023, in Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, an operation carried out by coastal resistance forces against the occupied territory. This is a continuation of Israel’s claim that it was involved.
The termination of U.S.-led support to UNRWA will deny the agency approximately $450 million worth of funding, nearly half of the agency’s 2024 budget.
This development comes amidst the Israeli regime’s genocidal war against Gaza following Operation Palestine.
More than 28,660 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed and approximately 1.9 million displaced in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israel’s brutal attacks.