Key Points
- Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has spoken about the decision to suspend funding to a United Nations agency.
- The decision was made after allegations that some staff were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October.
- Wong emphasised the importance of ensuring aid reaches Palestinians while maintaining accountability measures.
Australia's foreign minister has spoken of the need to support Palestinian refugees as she looks to unfreeze funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
Penny Wong was quizzed about to suspend funding to UNRWA after allegations that some agency staff were involved in on 7 October last year.
The Australian government paused funding while the claims were investigated.
The foreign minister spoke with agency head Philippe Lazzarini following reports an Israeli dossier relied upon to suspend funding contained "no evidence" its staff were involved.
"We recognise the importance of that organisation, which is why we've doubled the core funding, and I spoke with him about the various inquiries and investigations they are doing," Wong told reporters in Canberra.
"We spoke about ensuring that donors such as Australia can have the confidence to ensure that the pause is lifted because this is important for the people of Gaza and the people of the occupied Palestinian territories."
The freeze was criticised by international aid organisations and the Palestinian representative in Australia as a collective punishment and a severe hindrance to Palestinians' wellbeing.
The Greens have called on the government to reinstate funding.
"It is crystal clear that this funding is crucial to help avert a humanitarian catastrophe," Greens leader Adam Bandt said.
"People need humanitarian assistance, and they need it right now."
The foreign affairs department also investigated reports UN agency staff were involved in kidnapping Israeli hostages. Source: Getty / Getty Images
"In the context where you have 400,000 Palestinians starving, a million facing starvation, and 1.7 million people displaced that does matter," she said.
"Another irrefutable fact is that serious allegations have been raised, which is why the government has paused funding and is engaging with UNRWA and with partners, including in the context of the investigations that have been raised."
Wong was questioned about what checks took place before the Palestinian aid package was announced.
"The advice to me based on the independently audited review was that there was no evidence that our funds have been diverted and that our key partners including the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, who all fund UNRWA, held the same view," she said.
The foreign affairs department also investigated reports UN agency staff were involved in kidnapping Israeli hostages.
"We have agreements with our law that prohibit Hamas, or any other terrorist organisations from receiving funding," Wong said.
"These requirements are closely monitored."
More than 1200 people were killed and 240 others taken hostage in the 7 October attack by Hamas, according to Israeli officials.
Israel's subsequent war on Hamas has killed more than 27,000 Palestinians and wounded another 66,000 people, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.
The war between Hamas and Israel is the latest escalation in a long-standing conflict.
Hamas is a Palestinian political and military group, which has governed the Gaza Strip since the most recent elections in 2006.
Hamas’s stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state and stop the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, illegal under international law.
Hamas in its entirety is listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union and seven other countries, including Australia. But the UN Assembly rejected classifying Hamas as a terrorist group in a 2018 vote.
In 2021 the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes in the Palestinian territories dating back to 2014, including the recent attacks of both Israel and Hamas.
