When the U.K. Labour Party’s won the country’s snap elections on Thursday, July 4, the country was bound to see policy changes. On Friday, July 19, the new government announced the first major change: a shift in its approach to the war in Gaza.
Now, the U.K. will once again fund the United Nations’ Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA. The reversal came after Britain joined several other countries, including the U.S., in January to stop funding after Israel claimed that some agency workers were involved in Hamas’ initial terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
New British Foreign Secretary David Lammy called the UNRWA the “backbone” for aid in Gaza. He said the agency reassured him that it took steps to improve vetting with “the highest standards of neutrality.”
Lammy said the British government would provide 21 million pounds ($27 million) to the agency for food, shelter and other aid to the millions of Palestinians.
A review earlier this year led by a former French foreign minister found Israel did not have evidence to back its claims. Other countries. including Australia, Germany, Italy and Japan, also resumed their funding.
