Sweden pulls funding from UNRWA aid agency
Sweden is pulling their funding from the UN Refugee Agency for Palestinians(UNRWA). According to Arab News and Reuters, Sweden has instead pledged to provide humanitarian aid to Palestine through other means, stated Sweden’s aid minister, Benjamin Dousa, on December 20,2024.
This comes after Israel’s plans to ban UNRWA’s operations in the country from late January, due to Israel’s belief that UNRWA was involved in the attacks orchestrated by Hamas on October 7,2023.
Sweden pulling their funding for UNRWA was a direct response to the Israeli ban, as humanitarian aid will no longer be able to be effectively channeled via the agency.
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Douza asserted Sweden plans to increase its contributions to sending humanitarian assistance to Gaza in the new year. He hopes to make use of “several other organisations in Gaza”, citing the UN World Food Programme as an alternative.
Although Sweden is no longer funding UNWRA, The United Nations General Assembly supported them earlier this month , arguing Israel must respect the agency’s mandate and “enable its operations to proceed.”
Arab News, Reuters
