Borrell warns that stopping funding for UNRWA is a dangerous and inappropriate measure

The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, warned on Sunday that stopping funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is a dangerous and inappropriate measure that will put the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians at risk.

Borrell added in an article published on his blog: “The agency took immediate action and opened an investigation after Israel accused a limited number of its employees of involvement in the October 7 attack.  The allegations against UNRWA employees are serious and no official should go unpunished, but UNRWA has responded to "The contracts of the accused employees were terminated immediately."

He indicated his confidence that the investigation opened by UNRWA will be completed by launching an independent external investigation before the next installment from the European Commission is due at the end of this month.

He stressed that "UNRWA plays a vital role in providing humanitarian aid to more than 1.1 million people in Gaza suffering from catastrophic famine and epidemics," warning that "stopping funding the agency will put the lives of hundreds of thousands of people at risk."

He explained that the pending funding currently amounts to "more than $440 million, or nearly half of the agency's expected revenues in 2024, which puts its very existence at risk."

The European Union had previously called for a review of UNRWA's work, explaining that it would decide whether to suspend its funding based on the results of the investigation opened by the United Nations.

Several countries, including the United States, Canada and Australia, announced  a temporary halt to their funding of the agency  after Israel accused a number of UNRWA employees of involvement in the October 7 attack.

Early last week, the Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned a high-ranking UN official to its office in Jerusalem, and presented him with an allegation that “12 employees of his agency  participated in the October 7 attacks on Israel , transferred weapons, raided Israeli villages, and participated in the kidnapping of a soldier and a civilian.” ".

Israeli officials have long complained that  the United Nations Relief and Works Agency , which runs aid programs for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, was too closely allied with Hamas.

Western media reports revealed that the Russian economy's ability to withstand Western sanctions astonished Western experts.

“The resilience of the Russian economy astonished many economists, who believed that the first round of sanctions could lead to a catastrophic deterioration,” the Financial Times reported.

She explained that the Kremlin emerged from the recession and succeeded in avoiding Western attempts to limit its income from energy sales and increase defense spending.

The newspaper noted that the International Monetary Fund has revised its GDP growth forecast in Russia to 2.6% this year, which is 1.5 percentage points higher than it was in October last year.

The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations, Peter Szijjarto, said yesterday, Saturday, that the already failed sanctions policy in the European Union will appear trivial with the adoption of the new package of sanctions against Russia.

Earlier on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that the country's economy has shown stability, has withstood unprecedented external pressure, and continues to develop steadily.