Italy to resume funding for UNRWA

Italy will resume funding for the United Nations' Palestinian relief organisation UNRWA as part of a 35 million euro (AED 139.5 million) aid package, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Saturday.

Tajani made the commitment during a meeting in Rome with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa.

Tayani said, "I informed Mustafa that the government has prepared new funding for the Palestinian people, totalling 35 million euros, of which 5 million will be allocated to UNRWA."

Many Western countries, including Italy, stopped funding the international organisation after Israel claimed in January that 12 UNRWA employees participated in the October 7 attack on the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip.

At the end of April, an independent evaluation group concluded that Israel had not provided "evidence" of the accusations.