Italy has said it will no longer work with UNRWA, the United Nations Relief Agency for Palestinian Refugees, regarding aid in the Gaza strip.
On February 6, Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said Italians “do not want to work with UNRWA and we condemn the use of UNRWA offices as a prison for Israeli hostages”.
The Italian diplomat spoke at a press conference in Ashdod, Israel, together with his Israeli counterpart Gideon Sa’ar.
Tajani wore a yellow ribbon on his lapel to show solidarity with the 79 Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.
He went to Israel for the handover of 15 trucks and 15 tonnes of humanitarian aid to the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP).
“For us, the United Nations are represented in Gaza by the WFP,” Tajani said. “We prefer this organisation.”
Italy would, though, continue to finance UNRWA, but only for projects “outside Palestine”, he added.
UNRWA has long been accused by critics of collaborating with the radical Islamist terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, alleging that schools were funded where children were indoctrinated against Jews and aiding the terrorists’ rule in the small enclave.
Several Israeli hostages taken after the attack on the country 15 months ago have reportedly been held by Hamas in UNRWA facilities.
After the October 7, 2023 assault by Hamas – in which more than 1,200 Israelis were murdered and 239 were abducted – Italy had stopped all payments to UNRWA over its suspected involvement in the attack.
Then, in March 2024 the country announced it would resume aid to the Palestinians amounting to €35 million, of which €5 million would go to UNRWA.
Brussels Signal contacted the Italian foreign ministry over the financial consequences for UNRWA of Tajani’s announcement to stop co-operation on Gaza aid, but had not heard back at the time of writing.
Israeli foreign minister Sa’ar thanked Tajani for his and Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni’s leadership on working with other organisations on Gaza aid.
“Those who want to support humanitarian efforts in Gaza should invest resources in alternative organisations,” he said.
