A PALESTINIAN politician has praised Scotland for its stance on Gaza.
Dr Hanan Ashrawi named Scotland among countries – including Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, Norway, and Spain – that “refuse to be swept away by anti-Palestinian racism & blind allegiance to Israel”.
The former official spokesperson for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) also thanked them for “exercising moral judgment” and not defunding the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
It comes after the UK – and many other nations – halted its financing of the UNRWA in the light of allegations that 12 agency workers took part in Hamas's atrocities against Israel on October 7.
Despite initial reports to the contrary, First Minister Humza Yousaf said last week that Scotland has not “paused or withdrawn” funding for the UN’s relief agency in Gaza.
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Scotland has already paid out £750,000 to the agency last year to aid its efforts in the region.
Ashrawi, in a post on Twitter/X, said: “There are states that refuse to be swept away by anti-Palestinian racism & blind allegiance to Israel. Thank you Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, Norway, & Spain for exercising moral judgment & not defunding UNRWA."
She then added in a separate tweet: “And Scotland as well, of course!”
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres met behind closed doors with 35 donor nations and appealed again for a restoration of funding and new donations for the embattled UN agency.
The UN chief briefed the ambassadors, including from the European Union, late on Tuesday on actions he had taken following the accusations.
He has called the Israeli allegations “horrific” and launched an investigation.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric also told reporters that “no other organisation than UNRWA has the infrastructure to do what they do” in Gaza and the Middle East and “it’s not feasible in any way, shape or form” to quickly replace the UN agency.
Dujarric also told reporters that every year UNRWA provides a list of its 13,000 staff in Gaza to Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
“As far as I’m told by UNRWA, concerns have not been raised when the list of staff have been shared,” he said.
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