Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Taiani informed Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa that his country will re-fund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) as part of an aid package for the Palestinian people worth $38 million.
Tayani’s pledge came during his meeting in Rome with Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa, and the Italian minister said, in a statement on Saturday, “I informed Mustafa that the government has prepared new funding for the Palestinian people with a total of 35 million euros (about 38 million dollars), of which 5 million will be allocated to UNRWA.” While the rest is allocated to the “Food for Gaza” initiative.
Taiani said, “Italy decided to resume funding specific projects aimed at helping Palestinian refugees, but only after conducting strict checks to ensure that not a single cent of it goes to supporting terrorism.”
Italy was one of several countries that suspended aid to UNRWA following Israel’s allegation that some of the agency’s employees were involved in the Al-Aqsa flood attack, launched by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Israel on October 7.
In recent weeks, several countries have resumed funding the agency, and Germany said last month that it would resume cooperation with UNRWA following a report led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on UNRWA’s procedures to ensure adherence to the principles of neutrality.
It is noteworthy that UNRWA employs 13,000 people in Gaza, runs the Strip’s schools, clinics provide primary health care and other social services, and distributes humanitarian aid, but its work has diminished due to the ongoing Israeli aggression and lack of funding.
