Knesset Christian Allies Caucus Asks Germany to Maintain Freeze on UNRWA Funding
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Lawmakers from the Israeli Knesset’s Christian Allies Caucus have met with German parliamentarians in Berlin to request that they maintain Germany’s funding freeze on the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) because of its intricate connection to Palestinian terrorism in the Gaza Strip, the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) reports.
UNRWA was established to support the 750,000 Palestinian Arabs who were displaced after Israel beat back the armies of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Yemen which attacked the fledgling Jewish state in 1948, immediately after its declaration of independence. UNRWA provides humanitarian aid and education only to the Palestinians, whom it describes as “refugees,” and who now number five million people. UNRWA is entirely separate from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) which takes care of the world’s refugees.
Germany has been a staunch ally of Israel’s since the Holocaust. Together with the United States, Germany suspended funding to UNRWA after Israel reported in January that dozens of UNRWA employees had taken part in Hamas’ genocidal attack against Israel on Oct. 7. Sixteen other countries followed suit in suspending UNRWA funding, but some have resumed funding as the Israel-Hamas war that was triggered by the Oct. 7 massacre has gone on, JNS reports.
The Christian Caucus’s meeting at the Bundestag on Wednesday came 10 days before UNRWA is due to present its report on the allegations and applies to have funding fully restored, JNS noted.
“Continuing with funding for UNRWA, an organization marred by collaboration and terrorist entrenchment, hinders any prospect of advancement in the Middle East,” Knesset member and Christian Allies Caucus co-chair Sharren Haskel said in a statement. “It is imperative to permanently halt funding for UNRWA and redirect resources towards initiatives that genuinely promote peace and stability.”
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