Austria announced on Saturday that it has released funds allocated to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which it had frozen four months ago.
The Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release they will release these funds after analyzing UNRWA’s work plan and the results of a United Nations investigation into the agency.
The statement added that the Austrian government has allocated an additional 3.4 million euros (USD 3.7 million) to UNRWA within the state budget for this year. The money will be provided in installments, the first of which will be sent soon.
The Ministry stressed that support for the Palestinian people suffering in the Gaza Strip and the region has increased despite the freezing of funds, indicating that Austria provided humanitarian aid to the Palestinians worth 32 million euros and (USD 34.86 million) through other international relief organizations.
UNRWA provides aid and relief to about 6.4 million refugees, including about two m
illion refugees in the Gaza Strip who are subjected to aggression and war of extermination by the Israeli occupation.
The report of the independent investigation committee, led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, was commissioned by the United Nations last month.
It concluded that the occupation did not provide evidence to support allegations that agency employees were linked to Hamas or the Islamic Jihad movement.
The report stressed that UNRWA has a sophisticated approach towards neutrality that surpasses other United Nations organizations or similar relief organizations.
Source: Kuwait News Agency