Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says it is “extremely concerned” about UNRWA staff’s alleged involvement with Hamas
While Western countries are cutting off support amid rising suspicions that dozens of employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) were involved in a surprise attack on Israel on October 7 last year by the Palestinian armed political faction Hamas, the Japanese government also announced a suspension of support.
According to Jiji News Agency and Japanese public broadcaster NHK on the 29th, Maki Kobayashi (小林麻紀), press officer (spokesperson) of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a statement the previous day that she was “extremely concerned” about the suspicions of UNRWA staff being involved in Hamas.
He said, “We have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to temporarily suspend UNRWA’s additional funding for the time being while UNRWA’s investigation is being conducted and countermeasures are being considered.”
He also urged, “We strongly demand that the investigation be conducted quickly and completely and that appropriate responses be taken.”
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japanese government included approximately $35 million (approximately 47 billion won) in UNRWA support in the revised (additional revision) budget established in November last year. It is a budget that takes into account the situation in Israel and Palestine. However, there are plans not to release these funds to UNRWA for the time being.
Previously, on the 26th (local time), UNRWA announced that it had received information from Israel that several of its employees were involved in the Israeli attack on October 7 last year. UNRWA explained that it is investigating this.
Afterwards, the United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Finland decided to suspend support to UNRWA.
In response, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a statement on the 28th and appealed to withdraw the suspension of support to UNRWA.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkiye also issued a statement on this day, saying that it is the Palestinian people who are most affected by the suspension of funding, and urged countries to resume funding to UNRWA.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.