Following the publication of the independent review into UNRWA today, and confirmation that the recommendations laid out in the report would be implemented, Julia Rosell Jackson, Senior Humanitarian Advocacy Adviser – Women's Rights at ActionAid UK, said:
“With most of the population of Gaza displaced from their homes and hundreds of thousands of people facing famine, which hits women and girls the hardest in conflict, it is imperative that the UK restores funding to UNRWA, as most other donor countries have already done. As the largest humanitarian actor in Gaza, UNRWA plays a crucial and unique role as a lifeline for 2.2million Palestinians who – after six months of bombardment – rely on aid to survive.
"It makes little sense for the UK to provide aid to Gaza while simultaneously withholding funding from the key organisation which is best placed to coordinate and support its distribution. If the UK really wants to help the desperate people of Gaza it must restore funding to UNRWA immediately, stop selling arms to Israel and use every diplomatic lever available to demand a permanent ceasefire now.”