
Japan will lift its suspension of funding to UNRWA, the UN “Palestinian refugees” agency, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa told local media on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
Japan is one of a host of countries which cut funding to UNRWA in January, after Israel said that 12 UNRWA staff had taken part in Hamas’ October 7 attack.
Among other things, Israel said those workers kidnapped a woman, handed out ammunition and actively taking part in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 people were murdered.
Since then, a number of countries resumed or increased their funding to UNRWA, including Spain, Canada, Australia and France.
Japan is the sixth biggest donor to the agency, according to the UNRWA's 2022 data.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said last week that the agency has enough funds to keep operating until at least the end of May.
While Lazzarini announced that the UN agency had launched an investigation into the employees which Israel said were involved in the October 7 attacks, he has also insisted he had no knowledge of how deep Hamas is involved in UNRWA.
The UNRWA chief has repeatedly accused Israel of "a deliberate and concerted campaign" aimed at ending the agency’s work.