Former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna will lead an investigation into the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) for possible involvement in the Hamas attack on Israel.
The review was ordered by Filipe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, last month before the publication of the Israeli accusations and the subsequent mass exodus of donors led by the US and the UK, the Guardian reported.
As a result, UNRWA is facing severe funding shortages at a time of growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. On February 5, Spain announced that it would provide additional aid of €3.5 million.
Colonna, a former French ambassador to the United Kingdom and a highly experienced diplomat will be assisted in his investigation by three Scandinavian development think tanks: the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in Sweden, the HR Michelsens Institute in Norway, and the Danish Institute for Human Rights the person.
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the UN agency had been "completely infiltrated" by Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007.
Israel claims up to 10% of its staff are Hamas supporters and wants the organization disbanded.
Lazzarini is visiting three Gulf states this week to drum up support after donors suspended funding and warned that if funding is not resumed, the agency could be forced to shut down by the end of February.
UNRWA fired the 12 staff identified by Israel as involved in the October 7 attack, and Lazzarini announced the independent review in the middle of last month before the Israeli accusations were made public. Separately, the UN's internal review of Israel's specific allegations is being conducted in parallel by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight.
UNRWA is disappointed that at a time of dire need in Gaza, so many donors have responded to Israel's accusations without waiting to see if they are true./BGNES
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