ANKARA: The United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on Palestine decried countries that announced a suspension of funding to the UN Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) that provides humanitarian aid to Palestinians following allegations of involvement by employees in the Oct 7 attacks on Israel.

       "The day after International Criminal Court (ICJ) concluded that Israel is plausibly committing Genocide in Gaza, some states decided to defund UNRWA, collectively punishing millions of Palestinians at the most critical time, and most likely violating their obligations under the Genocide Convention,” Francesca Albanese wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Saturday (Jan 27).

       The US, UK, Italy, Australia, Canada, Finland, and Netherlands decided to suspend funding to UNRWA following the claims, Anadolu Agency reported.

       After the allegations by Israel, UNRWA said Friday (Jan 26) that it had terminated contracts with several staffers for their alleged involvement in the attacks.

       Norway welcomed investigations of some staffers but said it would continue to support Palestinians via UNRWA.

       Ireland also announced earlier that it would not suspend funding to the UN agency.

       Despite a provisional ruling Friday by the ICJ that ordered Tel Aviv to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, Israel continued its onslaught against the coastal enclave where at least 26,257 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and 64,797 injured since Oct 7, according to Palestinian health authorities. - Bernama

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       The day after @ICJ concluded that Israel is plausibly committing Genocide in Gaza, some states decided to defund UNRWA, collectively punishing millions of Palestinians at the most critical time, and most likely violating their obligations under the Genocide Convention. https://t.co/fl32DrDeFs

       — Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) January 27, 2024