Sweden ends UNRWA funding amid controversy over Hamas ties and October 7 atrocities
Sweden has officially ceased its financial support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), Aid Minister Benjamin Dousa announced during an interview with TV4 on Friday.
Israelis demonstrate outside UNRWA’s Jerusalem headquarters on Feb. 5, 2024. Photo by Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS
Dousa stated that Stockholm would redirect its humanitarian assistance to Gaza through alternative channels.
This move comes amidst intensified scrutiny of UNRWA’s operations, particularly in the aftermath of Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel.
“UNRWA, whose personnel actively participated in the October 7 atrocities, whose facilities became terror hubs, and whose schools spread Hamas propaganda and incitement, has lost its legitimacy to exist,” Israeli Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli said while commending Sweden’s decision on X (formerly Twitter).
Knesset member Yulia Malinovsky, the sponsor of a bill to sever Israel’s ties with UNRWA, attributed Sweden’s decision to Israeli legislative efforts.
“When Israel takes decisive action, the world follows,” she claimed in a statement to The Press Service of Israel. “Once the law passed, the world itself would stop funding this organization, and this is exactly what’s happening now.”
Israel’s scepticism toward UNRWA has deepened over the past year. In February, Israeli forces discovered a Hamas complex beneath UNRWA’s Gaza City headquarters, raising alarms about the agency’s role in enabling terrorist activities. Further, Israel’s largest bank froze UNRWA’s accounts over suspicious financial activity.
Israeli intelligence has implicated UNRWA staff in Hamas operations, including during the October 7 attacks, where more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and over 250 taken hostage. A recent internal UN investigation led to the termination of nine staff members, but Israeli officials criticized the probe as “inadequate,” claiming the agency ignored evidence against at least 100 personnel.
UNRWA was also ordered to vacate its Jerusalem offices in May over lease violations.
UNRWA’s critics have also pointed to its unique mandate, which supports Palestinian refugees and their descendants—a stark contrast to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which assists all other refugee populations globally.
Sweden’s move aligns with a growing international trend of reevaluating UNRWA’s legitimacy. Earlier this year, Israel officially cut ties with the agency, and lawsuits have been filed against UNRWA, accusing it of aiding Hamas. Analysts suggest that UNRWA’s deeply embedded presence in Gaza—providing education, healthcare, and financial aid—has made it vulnerable to exploitation by militant groups.
At least 1,200 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 97 remaining hostages, more than 30 have been declared dead. Hamas has also been holding captive two Israeli civilians since 2014 and 2015 and the bodies of two soldiers killed in 2014.
