Will Austria participate? – Berlin’s UN cash injection for Gaza raises questions

The massacre of Israeli civilians by the terrorist group Hamas on October 7 has created a new reality. The brutal slaughter of entire families – krone.at was able to view uncensored images – plunged the coastal strip into one of its darkest periods.

In response to the terror, the Israeli army has largely closed off the Gaza Strip from the outside world. This isolation hits the civilian population hard.

The great test
Even before the terrorist attack, the coastal strip was dependent on humanitarian aid from alliances such as the EU and the UN. The Palestinian aid organization UNRWA coordinated many of these material and financial donations on site. Today, the world has a new, sharper view of the conflict in the Middle East. Many countries – including Austria and Germany – decided to freeze payments. The tenor: All projects are now being put to the test.

After years of financial support, there is great concern that this will indirectly finance Hamas’ terror. Local aid agencies have reported unimaginable suffering since the cuts in humanitarian funding. In hospitals, operations are sometimes performed without light or anesthetics.

Germany’s role backwards
In light of the brutal images from the Gaza Strip, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) announced on Tuesday that payments to the aid agency would resume after a meeting with UNRWA boss Philippe Lazzarini. More money is expected to flow than previously promised. At the same time, it is emphasized that the resumption does not mark the completion of the assessment of whether the payments are meaningful and sustainable.

In concrete terms, an already planned commitment of 71 million euros for UNRWA will be released again. An additional 20 million euros will also be added. “We see the great suffering of the civilian population in Gaza and want to alleviate it,” Schulze said. The money will mainly be used for sanitary facilities in emergency shelters and for drinking water supply. In addition, Palestinian refugees in Jordan would be supported.

German chief diplomat Annalena Baerbock announced before her departure for the G7 summit in Tokyo: “We will encourage other financially strong donors to become more involved in UNRWA.”

Austria remains on a payment freeze
When asked by krone.at, the Austrian Foreign Ministry said: In this country too, development funds are monitored “thoroughly and with an open mind”. With one big difference with Germany: “The Austrian test has not yet been completed. Until this is completed, all further Austrian payments will of course be frozen.”

According to a spokesperson, “not a cent of Austrian taxpayers’ money” should benefit Hamas or be used for anti-Israeli or anti-Semitic propaganda. “By doing so, we ensure that our commitment to the Palestinian people and our uncompromising fight against terrorism, extremism and anti-Semitism are consistent.”

Did Hamas attack the UN organization?
Despite a multi-level control system, there are still calls for aid money to reach Hamas in a roundabout way.

UNRWA has recently caused some confusion of its own. The aid organization claimed in a tweet in mid-October that it had been robbed by Hamas in Gaza City. About two hours after the post was published, it was deleted without comment. A short time later, the UN agency announced: “UNRWA would like to confirm that no looting has taken place in any of its warehouses in the Gaza Strip.”

krone.at secured a screenshot of the deleted tweet at the time:

The aid organization cannot provide recordings from existing surveillance cameras because they would no longer work due to the conflict, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports about the robbery, which allegedly never took place. However, the Israeli military said that “the amount of stolen fuel” was enough to power water desalination plants in Gaza for six days. Neither side has provided any evidence.

UNRWA is controversial
It is no big secret that the boundaries between the UN aid agency and Hamas in the Gaza Strip are sometimes blurred. For example, the organization has already been reprimanded by the EU Parliament for anti-Semitic teaching material in its own schools. A survey this year by the Geneva-based NGO ‘UN Watch’ found that Hamas terrorists were also glorified as martyrs in the classroom. UNRWA staff in the Gaza Strip also called for anti-Jewish violence.

Whether and how much of Western development money via UNRWA actually ends up with Hamas has not yet been documented. What is certain is that the terrorist group is mainly funded by Arab countries such as Iran and Qatar, the most recent World Cup host country. Approximately $180 million is transferred annually from these countries alone. The terrorist organization also enriches itself through taxes, smuggling and money from private groups disguised as ‘charities’.

Hamas boss enjoys luxury
Ismail Haniya, head of the terrorist organization Hamas, ordered the Jewish massacre on October 7. The civilian population in the Gaza Strip is now bearing the consequences. Meanwhile, the billionaire terrorist leader enjoys luxury in Qatar with his thirteen children, while countless children in the enclave are crushed by collapsing houses.

Whether the 91 million euros from the German federal government will end up in his wallet in a roundabout way can only be speculated. Schulz wants the renewed flow of money to be seen as a reference to the future. It is important to think now about the ‘hopefully not distant time’ after the war. This is also in Israel’s security interests.

Regarding the German decision, the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs states matter-of-factly: “The evaluation of the relevant national investigation is left to each state itself and is not evaluated by us.”