Ending aid to Unwra would be ‘catastrophic’, Tánaiste warns

It would be “catastrophic” if more countries ceased funding the UN agency that works with Palestinian refugees in Gaza, and said that countries - including the US and UK - which have pulled funding “have acted far too prematurely”, Tanaiste Micheal Martin has warned/

Several donor countries have halted aid after allegations that a small number of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unwra) staff were involved in the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7th that precipitated the current round of violence. The UN has appealed for aid to continue.

“Ireland is a strong contributor and the bottom line is that without Unwra the humanitarian situation would become even more catastrophic in Gaza and in the West Bank,” Mr Martin told reporters in Cork on Sunday. “And don’t forget that Unwra also supports millions of refugees in Jordan and elsewhere so it’s hugely important agency, employing up to 30,000 people, 13,000 alone in Gaza.

“That’s the context and people have to put this in perspective in terms of allegations against a number of workers on the ground and to pull out the entire programme, I think, it would be catastrophic in terms of the daily humanitarian needs of Gazans in particular in the midst of a most terrible conflict,” Mr Martin added.

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Mr Martin also said Ireland would “talk to other countries” about possibly supporting the South African case in the International Court of Justice which alleges genocide by Israel against the Palestinians.

Earlier, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said she would personally like Ireland to formally support South Africa’s case against Israel.

Separately, the Palestinian ambassador to Ireland has said she would not advocate for representatives of the Government or the Opposition to turn down invitations to the White House on St Patrick’s Day.

Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, the head of the Mission of the State of Palestine, said she would “respect” whatever decision Irish politicians made about the annual US trip. “I wouldn’t say go or not to go ... I know how important this visit is,” she said.

Sinn Féin has faced criticism from People Before Profit and pro-Palestine campaign groups over its plan to attend the St Patrick’s Day events in Washington, due to US support for Israel in the conflict.

The Palestinian ambassador said she hoped Irish politicians attending engagements in the White House and Capitol Hill raised the war in Gaza “in a serious way” during any talks with the US administration.

“Please keep the just cause of Palestinians in your hearts, your minds, in your talks,” she said. Ireland should try to use its close relationship with the US to push the case for a ceasefire in Gaza and self determination for Palestinians, she said.

In a statement in recent days, Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill said the party would be travelling to the US on the annual trip “in the pursuit of peace”. She said Sinn Féin would “advocate for an end to the Israeli genocidal war and occupation in Gaza and the West Bank”, as well as call for a “peace process in Palestine” during the trip.

The Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign has called on all politicians to turn down invitations to travel to the US to meet President Joe Biden on St Patrick’s Day. “This was our view long before Israel’s genocidal assault on the people of Gaza,” the campaign group said in a recent statement.

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