Japan, Estonia Suspend UNRWA Funding Amid Arbitrary Israeli Claims
Japan's Foreign Ministry calls for an investigation and measures to be taken against the accused members after which UNRWA could restore its role in full function.
Japan and Estonia have joined the list of countries defunding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after “Israel” accused a number of its members of participating in Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
This brings the total number of countries cutting UNRWA and Palestinians by extension off to 13.
The Japanese Foreign Ministry officiated the action in a statement on Sunday, saying, “Japan is extremely concerned about the alleged involvement of UNRWA staff members in the terror attack on Israel on October 7 last year. In response, Japan has decided to suspend additional funding to UNRWA for the time being while UNRWA conducts an investigation into the matter and considers measures to address the allegations.”
Japan, though gravely worsening the crisis in Gaza through defunding the agency that provides relief for 2.2 million Palestinians, has guaranteed that its diplomatic efforts to mitigate the humanitarian crisis are ongoing.
Japan also called for an investigation that would adequately prosecute the accused individuals, claiming that once that is done, funding would be restored and the organization could go back to fulfilling its role.
According to UNRWA, Japan put 7 million dollars toward Gaza relief on October 24.
Following in the footsteps of countries defunding the organization over allegations made by “Israel” without providing any proof, Estonia’s Foreign Minister, Marcus Tsahkna, revealed the country’s decision through a post on X, saying, “Concerning the recent very serious allegations against UNRWA, Estonia will not continue with the funding of the organization. I call for a quick and in-depth investigation of these allegations.”
