Israel’s accusations against the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) have immediate and ripple repercussions. After the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy, it is France’s turn to announce the suspension of its payments to the agency. In total, eight countries have so far taken a similar decision.
“France has not planned a new payment in the first quarter of 2024 and will decide when the time comes what action to take in conjunction with the United Nations and the main donors, ensuring that all its transparency and security requirements are met. aid are well taken into account,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Sunday.
A promised investigation
Evoking accusations of “exceptional seriousness”, Paris, which paid 60 million euros in aid to UNRWA in 2023, says it wants to wait “for the investigations launched in recent days to shed light on past facts and are accompanied by concrete measures. Israel on Friday accused several UNRWA employees of participating in the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel.
UNRWA, for its part, immediately reacted to the Israeli accusations by dismissing the people involved and promising a thorough investigation and, if this participation was proven, legal proceedings, but Israel nevertheless announced its decision to ban the agency to continue working in Gaza after the war.
A truce under discussion
Contacts also took place on Sunday in Paris between CIA Director William Burns and senior officials from Egypt, Qatar and Israel, to discuss a truce agreement in the war in Gaza, indicated sources close to the participants in these meetings.
THE New York Times mentions, among the options envisaged, a first truce of 30 days to allow the release of women, the oldest hostages and the injured. During this period, according to the American newspaper, the parties would negotiate the details of a second phase which should also last 30 days and allow the release of men and soldiers. The agreement would also include the release of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons, according to the New York Times.