EU funding for the UNRWA, links to terrorism and the need for investigation and alternatives

Question for written answer E-002052/2024
to the Commission
Rule 144
Tomáš Zdechovský (PPE)

A UN agency has confirmed that an individual described by Israel as the leader of Hamas in Lebanon was a UN employee, after he was killed in an Israeli strike on 29 September 2024[1].

Fateh al-Sharif, the commander of Hamas in Lebanon, had been under investigation by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and had been suspended from work since allegations of his ties to the militant group emerged in March 2024[2].

Last year, the Israeli Government accused more than a dozen of UNRWA's Gaza employees of involvement in the 7 October 2023 atrocities. UNRWA supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees and is supported by the EU[3]. This raises the question as to how it is possible that we are only figuring out by accident that organisations funded by the EU are employing terrorists.

• 1.Does the Commission plan to investigate the actual use of EU funds by UNRWA?
• 2.Will the Commission stop financing organisations and agencies that contribute to terrorism?
• 3.Is the Commission considering funding the EU Agency for Asylum instead of the problem-ridden UNRWA?

Submitted: 14.10.2024

• [1] https://news.sky.com/story/hamas-leader-in-lebanon-killed-by-israel-was-un-employee-unwra-confirms-13225258.
• [2] https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/top-hamas-commander-killed-lebanon-employee-administrative-leave-114351688.
• [3] https://www.unrwa.org/our-partners.