MPs warn Lord Cameron that Britain must not restore funding for 'Hamas-linked' UN aid agency in Gaza after 12 workers were sacked amid Israeli claims they took part in October 7
- Top Tories have called on Lord Cameron not to restore funding to UNRWA
- Israeli intelligence claimed several of its workers were involved in October 7
- The UK is waiting for an assessment on UNRWA before making a decision
Several top Tory MPs have urged the UK's foreign secretary Lord David Cameron not to restore funding to the 'Hamas-linked' UN aid agency for Palestinians.
The group of Tories, which includes former Cabinet minister Therese Villiers, said it would be a disgrace to restore funds to the UN's Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), and that doing do would be 'morally bankrupt.'
The UK was one of 18 nations to suspend funding for the Palestine-focused relief agency after Israel alleged that a dozen of its workers directly took part in the October 7 attack that sparked the bloodiest conflict in the Middle East for decades.
The Israeli dossier of information was heavily by several media outlets, including Sky News, Channel 4 and the FT, all of whom reported that no direct evidence was shown to back the claims up.
The UN has launched its own still-ongoing inquiry into the allegations, due to be submitted today, and the UK's Foreign Office is waiting for a review into UNRWA's neutrality, which is due to be published this week, before it makes a decision.
Villiers, who wrote to Cameron to urge him not to restore funding, told the Telegraph that the agency was 'completely discredited.'
Lord Cameron (pictured) was urged not to restore funding for UNRWA
Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7 left 1,200 people, mostly civilians, dead
Palestinian men walk amidst the rubble of a UNRWA school in Gaza City, which was destroyed overnight in an Israeli airstrike on October 8, 2023
'Funding should not be restored. We need a new organisation to take over provision of aid to Palestinians which is not tainted by the failings of UNRWA.'
Suella Braverman, the former home secretary, said: 'UNRWA has been categorically discredited and it would be a disgrace for taxpayers' money to be diverted towards its activities.
'Hamas uses UNRWA for military activities and UNRWA has totally failed to deal with it. It would be wholly inappropriate for the UK Government to fund UNRWA.'
Greg Smith, MP for Buckingham, said that there were better organisations to allocate funding for, and that restoring UNRWA's funding would be 'morally bankrupt.'
'Other aid organisations operating in Gaza need to be the ones to deliver the aid. UNRWA cannot be trusted, they are in the hands of Hamas.'
Since October 2022, the UK's Foreign Office has given UNRWA £27million in aid.
There were plans to hand over a further £11million by October this year.
UNRWA initially lost more than £600m in pledged donations after the 18 donor states pulled funding for the aid organisation in light of the allegations.
But already several, including Australia, Canada, Sweden and the European Commission, have reversed their funding freezes.
On top of this, many Gulf states stepped up their support for the agency.
The UAE donated an additional £4million in February, while Qatar and Iraq each pledged around £20million each a month later.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, pledged an additional £32million to UNRWA through its own humanitarian agency, leaving the impact on UNRWA's overall budget up in the air.
MailOnline has contacted UNRWA for comment.
