Swiss House of Representatives votes to stop UNRWA funding

One of the two chambers of the Swiss parliament in Bern voted to immediately stop payments to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

The motion proposed by David Zuberbühler was accepted by 99 votes to 88, with seven abstentions. The dossier yet needs to be discussed in the Senate.

The motion to cut the funding was based on allegations of UNRWA employees having links to Hamas and that anti-Israel prejudice was stoked in schools run by the organisation.

The House of Representatives also adopted a separate motion calling on Switzerland to directly support aid efforts by other organisations in the Gaza Strip rather than UNRWA.

This motion would also imply cutting direct transfers to UNRWA in future. This issue will also go to the Senate for a decision.

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