UN chief names independent panel to assess UNRWA agency in Gaza

UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees is under fire over Israeli accusations that 12 staff members were involved in October 7 Hamas attack on Israel

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said last week that the UN agency had been ‘totally infiltrated’ by Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007

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An aid worker wearing a UNWRA jacket in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:20am, 6 Feb 2024Updated: 1:52am, 6 Feb 2024

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres announced on Monday the creation of an independent panel to assess UNRWA, its embattled agency tasked with helping Palestinian refugees.

UNRWA, (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) is under fire over accusations by Israel that 12 staff members were involved in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7.

More than a dozen countries, including the United States, Germany, Britain and Sweden, have suspended funding to the agency.

The new independent panel will be led by former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna, who will work with three European research organisations, the UN said in a statement.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Photo: EPA-EFE

The goal of the investigation is to “assess whether the agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches when they are made.”