The top Spanish diplomat announced on Monday that his country would maintain its support for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees amid an ongoing controversy following Israeli allegations that some of the agency's employees were involved in the Oct. 7 attacks.
During a parliamentary commission meeting, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares called the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) "indispensable," and said the funding helps "alleviate the terrible humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
His announcement comes after a growing number of Western nations said they were freezing funding for the agency amid an internal investigation about some employees’ roles in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
At least 12 nations, including the United States, Canada, the U.K., Germany, France, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands, and Austria, have suspended funding. Meanwhile, a minority of Western nations like Ireland and Norway have spoken out against the funding cuts.
On Monday, Spain’s foreign minister said Spain will be following the agency’s internal investigation closely, but highlighted the inquiry is looking at the acts of "around a dozen people out of UNRWA’s 30,000 workers.”
On Sunday, the U.N. agency released a statement saying its "life-saving aid may end” due to the funding freezes, adding that as the primary aid agency in Gaza, it runs shelters for over 1 million people and provides food and healthcare.
Spain’s junior coalition party Sumar posted on X, formerly Twitter that the decision to cut aid is "an attack against humanity” and "collective punishment.” It added that it will pressure the Spanish government to boost funding for the organization.
Meanwhile, Albares added that Spain has tripled its funding to Palestine in recent months to around €50 million ($54 million), which includes funding for UNWRA.
The U.N. rapporteur on Palestine meanwhile welcomed Spain's decision not to suspend its funding to the agency amid the Israeli accusations.
"The Spanish government's decision not to suspend funding to UNRWA demonstrates wisdom and reflects the country's far-reaching perspective, as well as its moral high ground among European countries on international law and conflict resolution," Francesca Albanese said on X.
The Spanish foreign minister also told politicians that Spain supports Friday's ruling of the top U.N. court which calls on Israel to prevent genocide.
"We urge the integral compliance with this sentence by all parties. We request an urgent cease-fire and the entrance of humanitarian aid,” he added.
Albares warned that the violence in Israel and Palestine could spill over to neighboring nations, which could have "devastating effects for those countries, and the entire Mediterranean region, which, of course, includes Spain.”
The Spanish government continues pushing for an international peace conference, which would, in effect, see the entire international community recognizing a "viable” Palestinian state. Albares said that 88 nations now back the idea.
"We will not resign ourselves to watching more innocent women, men, and children killed in Gaza and more suffering of Palestinian families,” he said. "We will not resign ourselves to keep watching the suffering of the families of hostages. The violence must stop.”
Catering to Palestinian refugees across the Middle East, the UNRWA is involved in primary and vocational education, primary healthcare, relief and social services, infrastructure and camp improvement, and emergency response.
Much of the 2.3 million population in Gaza, where Israeli attacks since Oct. 7 have killed more than 26,000 people besides mass displacement and destruction, depends on the agency's humanitarian operation.
UNRWA says the contracts of the accused staff members have been terminated and an investigation has been launched.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has urged donor states to reconsider their UNRWA funding withdrawals.
