(Ottawa) The Canadian government will continue to provide financial aid to the Palestinians while ensuring that the funds do not fall into the hands of Hamas.
The office of the Canadian Minister of International Development, Ahmed Hussen, reports that aid granted to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will be maintained.
“We will continue to support civilians by providing them with vital humanitarian aid, while ensuring that no money falls into the hands of Hamas,” wrote Alex Tétreault, the minister’s communications director.
“Canada has a policy of no contact with the listed terrorist organization Hamas. Furthermore, no Canadian aid is provided directly to the Palestinian Authority,” he continued, noting that “anti-terrorism clauses” included in the agreements prevent funds from being diverted.
Canadian aid to the UN organization was cut under Stephen Harper’s conservative government, due to suspicions of having links with Hamas and being close to terrorists. It was reinstated by Justin Trudeau’s Liberals in 2016.
Israel’s designated ambassador to Canada, Iddo Moed, said in an interview with Canadian Jewish News that it was time for the Trudeau government to review aid to UNRWA. Because the money “is not just used to support refugees, it goes well beyond that,” he argued.
The deputy leader of the Conservative Party, Melissa Lantsman, shares this opinion. “We want Canada to reevaluate or examine whether some of the funding that we provide is going to this terrorism,” she said in an interview with Toronto television network CP24.
Established in 1949, UNRWA provides services and humanitarian assistance to some five million Palestine refugees in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. It offers education, basic health care, and humanitarian aid services.
Canada has disbursed on average about $55 million per year to meet the development and humanitarian needs of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, including $20 million for development and $35 million for humanitarian assistance.
The European Union (EU) had raised some concerns by announcing on Monday that it would carry out a review of its development aid program for the Palestinians. The Group of 27 ultimately clarified that aid would be maintained, which the United States welcomed.
“They reversed course, it’s a decision that we welcome. We have made clear that we have no grievance against the Palestinian people,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday.
Military aid: no request
As for the Canadian Armed Forces, which are participating in three multinational missions in the region, we “do not expect Israel to request military assistance from Canada,” the Canadian Department of National Defense reported on Tuesday.
“We can confirm that all members of the CAF are safe and none are missing,” it was added.
with Agence France-Presse