Council of States committee approves emergency aid in the Gaza Strip
Published: Friday, Jun 21st 2024, 17:10
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The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Council of States agrees to provide CHF 10 million in emergency aid to the Gaza Strip, as did the National Council Committee previously. Both committees demand that the money be used exclusively for urgent needs.
By 7 votes to 5, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the small chamber (APK-S) agreed to transfer the money to the UN Palestinian Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) on this condition. This was reported by the parliamentary services on Friday.
The motion to give the money to the ICRC and the UN World Food Program instead was rejected. The majority felt that neither organization had enough staff on the ground to make a difference with the Swiss money. Only UNRWA was in a position to alleviate the suffering of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
The minority, on the other hand, argued that UNRWA had a fundamental problem of trust due to suspected links between some of its employees and terrorist groups.
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