What's happened
Funding to the United Nations agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, remains suspended as a review finds no evidence to support Israel's claims of staff ties to terrorist organizations.
Why it matters
Allegations of staff ties to terrorist organizations at UNRWA have led to a suspension of funding, impacting aid delivery to Palestinians in Gaza. The lack of evidence supporting these claims raises questions about the credibility of the accusations and the future of funding for the agency.
What the papers say
The White House states that funding to UNRWA remains suspended pending real progress, while the Foreign Ministry alleges deep Hamas penetration of UNRWA. The review finds no evidence of staff ties to terror groups, prompting calls for the revival of funding.
How we got here
Allegations surfaced earlier this year that UNRWA staff were involved in terrorist activities, leading to a suspension of funding from several countries. The review aimed to investigate these claims and assess the agency's operations and neutrality in Gaza.
Common question
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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.
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Israel, formally known as the State of Israel, is a country in Western Asia, located on the southeastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea and the northern shore of the Red Sea.
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Hamas is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist militant organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
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The Gaza Strip, or simply Gaza, is a self-governing Palestinian territory on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, that borders Egypt on the southwest for 11 kilometers and Israel on the east and north along a 51 km border.
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Catherine Colonna is a French diplomat and political figure. Since September 2019, she has been the Ambassador of France to the United Kingdom, operating from the Embassy of France, London.
She was the Ambassador of France to Italy between 2014 and 2017.
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The United Nations is an intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.