The UNRWA school-turned-shelter in the Gaza Strip was filled not with children studying, but with exhausted, hungry and traumatized displaced families.
The German government said on Wednesday that it would resume funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Near East (UNRWA) projects in Gaza.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established in 1949 to provide humanitarian, educational and medical services to registered Palestinian refugees living in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Unlike United Nations Headquarters, UNRWA projects are funded almost entirely through voluntary contributions from United Nations Member States.
In January, Germany joined more than a dozen countries in suspending new funding for UNRWA after Israel accused 12 UNRWA staff members of being involved in the Hamas attack in its south on 7 October last year.
Several countries, including Japan, Australia, Canada and Sweden, had recently resumed their contributions to UNRWA, but Germany seemed to have taken a wait-and-see approach on the issue.
German support for UNRWA
On Monday, an independent review team, led by former French Foreign Minister Colonna, issued a report on UNRWA's impartiality. According to the report, Israel has not provided evidence to substantiate its allegations that its staff members are linked to Hamas. Two days after the publication of the report, Germany announced the resumption of its contribution to UNRWA.
In 2023, Germany provided a total of €197 million in aid to UNRWA. This funding makes Germany the second largest donor to the agency in the world.
At present, the United States, the United Kingdom and other countries have not resumed their contributions to UNRWA. The U.S. State Department said this week that it was studying and considering the Colonna report.
German-Israeli relations and their historical background
Germany's relations with Israel are deeply rooted in historical responsibilities related to the Holocaust. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two sides in the 50s of the 20th century, Germany has been a staunch ally of Israel and has supported Israel's right to exist and its security needs.
At the same time, Germany recognized its humanitarian obligations to the Palestinian people and stressed the stabilizing role played by UNRWA in that volatile part of the Middle East.
Role of UNRWA
UNRWA has a unique role to play in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as a provider and backbone of key services for the humanitarian response in Gaza.
Two thirds of Gaza's population, or 1.6 million people, were Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA. The agency has more than 13,000 staff in Gaza, more than 3,500 of whom are involved in emergency response.
In the West Bank, UNRWA served 1.1 million Palestine refugees and other registered persons. At the same time, UNRWA provided basic education, health care and social welfare services to Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Germany considers these services to be key to regional stability and a preventive measure against the escalation and radicalization of conflicts. At the end of March, the Government of Germany announced a €45 million contribution to UNRWA's work in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank.
Criticism and controversy
Israel had long been critical of UNRWA, arguing that it perpetuated the Palestine refugee problem and accused it of being biased against Israel.
Despite those concerns, Germany and other European countries insisted that the Agency was essential for the provision of necessary humanitarian assistance and that any problems within UNRWA could be resolved through reform and greater accountability.
Germany's strategic and humanitarian considerations
Analysts believe that while the resumption of contributions to UNRWA's Gaza project has provoked strong resentment from Israel, a close ally, Germany's move reflects the country's continued commitment to humanitarian assistance in the Middle East and highlights the complex balance of moral, historical and strategic considerations that define international relations and foreign aid in today's globalized world.
This balanced foreign policy, which takes into account both its historical responsibility and its current geopolitical realities, underlines Germany's role as a mediator and humanitarian actor and seeks to demonstrate its commitment to supporting vulnerable populations and promoting peace in the region.
