On Thursday, Ireland announced a €20 million grant to support the Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA. The announcement follows the news last week that Spain appropriated an additional €3.5 million to the embattled organization.
UNRWA has recently seen several of their donor-nations suspend financial assistance because of allegations that they employed members of the Hamas terrorist organization, and the apparent participation of at least 12 of their associates in the Oct. 7 murder, rape, and abduction rampage in southern Israel.
Governments that have decided to end their monetary cooperation include UNRWA’s two largest contributors, Germany and the United States.
After meeting with the group’s director in Dublin, the Irish Foreign Minister, Micheal Martin, urged “other donors to resume and expand support to UNRWA so that it can deliver for the millions of Palestinian refugees in need."
UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, has recently been on an international fundraising effort to close an estimated $440 million deficit that was caused by the disruption of the pledged support.
Despite a shared history of entanglement with the United Kingdom, Ireland has long maintained a very critical approach towards the Jewish state. Previous Irish governments have often condemned Israeli national defense arrangements and land use policies. Several Irish lawmakers have in the past compared Israel’s actions to that of Nazi’s.
Videos of Irish politicians lambasting Israel regularly go viral on social media and are often promoted by jihadist organizations.
Related Story: More Countries Suspend Aid to UNRWA After Allegations Employees Aided Attack on Israel
