A man and a boy push a wheelchair carrying sacks of flour that their family received from a warehouse of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Dec 12, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (PHOTO / AFP)

RAMALLAH / LONDON - A senior Palestinian official on Saturday urged countries that have announced the suspension of support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to reconsider their decisions to avoid political and humanitarian risks.

Hussein Al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said on the social media platform X that "especially at this time, amid the ongoing (Israel's) aggression against the Palestinian people, we are in desperate need of support from this international organization."

The United States and Canada on Friday announced a temporary suspension of their new funding for the UNRWA after Israel accused some of the UN agency's employees of participating in the attack launched by Hamas on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023

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The United States and Canada on Friday announced a temporary suspension of their new funding for the UNRWA after Israel accused some of the UN agency's employees of participating in the attack launched by Hamas on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

In a statement posted on his X account, Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz praised the US and Canada's decisions to pause funding for the UN agency.

"We commend the US administration's decision to halt funding for the UNRWA after it became clear that some of its employees were involved in the heinous massacre (Hamas attack) that occurred on Oct 7 last year," he said.

On Saturday, Australia and the United Kingdom announced that they would join the US and Canada in pausing the funding for the UNRWA.

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Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in the statement that the UK was "appalled" by the allegations, and the funding for the agency would be halted "whilst we review these concerning allegations."

The UNRWA, established as a subsidiary organ of the UN General Assembly in 1949, serves to support the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees and is entrusted with the mission of providing humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestinian refugees in the agency's operational areas until a just and lasting solution to their plight is achieved.