Germany to Resume Cooperation with Palestinian UNRWA Agency 

19 April 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: A destroyed United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) school seen after the Israeli army withdrew from the town of Abasan, east of the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. (dpa)
19 April 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: A destroyed United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) school seen after the Israeli army withdrew from the town of Abasan, east of the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. (dpa)
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Germany to Resume Cooperation with Palestinian UNRWA Agency 

19 April 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: A destroyed United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) school seen after the Israeli army withdrew from the town of Abasan, east of the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. (dpa)
19 April 2024, Palestinian Territories, Khan Younis: A destroyed United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) school seen after the Israeli army withdrew from the town of Abasan, east of the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. (dpa)

The German government plans to resume cooperation with the UN agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) in Gaza, the foreign and development ministries said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

The decision follows an investigation by the former French foreign minister Catherine Colonna into whether some UNRWA employees were involved in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

The Colonna-led review of the agency's neutrality on Monday concluded Israel had yet to back up its accusations that hundreds of UNRWA staff were operatives in Gaza terrorist groups.

The German ministries urged UNRWA to swiftly implement the report's recommendations, including strengthening its internal audit function and improving external oversight of project management.

"In support of these reforms, the German government will soon continue its cooperation with UNRWA in Gaza, as Australia, Canada, Sweden and Japan, among others, have already done," said the ministries in the statement.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.