Exclusive: Stop using British taxpayer cash to fund Unrwa, say nine in ten UK Jews

The UN later sacked nine staff members linked to the October 7 attacks by its investigation into Unrwa, but insisted that they were not representative of a systemic infiltration of the agency by terrorists.

But, in his previous role as foreign secretary, Deputy Prime Minister Lammy confirmed that the UK would restore £21 million of government funding to Unrwa, which had been cut by the previous Conservative government.

Announcing the resumption of funding in the House of Commons, he said: “Humanitarian aid is a moral necessity in the face of such a catastrophe, and it is aid agencies who ensure UK support reaches civilians on the ground.

“Unrwa is absolutely central to these efforts. No other agency can get aid into Gaza at the scale needed.”

Lammy acknowledged concerns of Hamas infiltration but said that Unrwa had taken measures to change. He told MPs: “I was appalled by the allegations that Unrwa staff were involved in the October 7 attacks. We are reassured that after Catherine Colonna’s independent review, Unrwa is ensuring they meet the highest standards of neutrality and strengthening its procedures, including on vetting.

“Unrwa has acted. Partners like Japan, the EU and Norway have now acted. This government will act too.”

While the UK government reinstated its support for the agency, Washington – historically Unrwa’s largest donor – has continued to tighten the screws.

In October this year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Unrwa of becoming “a subsidiary of Hamas”, which has been a designated terrorist organisation in America since 1997.

Responding to the poll, Conservative Friends of Israel Vice Chair Greg Smith told the JC: “Unrwa has long since been corrupted by Hamas.

“The Conservative government was absolutely right to freeze its funding when the scale of Hamas’ abuse and infiltration became apparent in the wake of October 7, and it was deeply counterproductive that Labour resumed funding without conditions so soon after entering government.

“The Jewish community – and many others – have legitimate concerns about this dangerous misuse of taxpayers’ money, and it is time that Labour started listening if it wants to make a positive contribution to peace in the Middle East.”

Reform UK Deputy Leader Richard Tice said: “The UK should not be effectively funding the Hamas terror group via Unrwa. We should stop this immediately, as there are plenty of other aid agencies that have shown themselves to be far more effective and less corrupt.”

CAA carried out its survey of 4,490 British Jews between November 3 and 10 last year.

It said it had modelled the poll on the National Jewish Community Survey (NJCS) conducted by the Institute for Jewish Policy research.

CAA said that like the NCJS, it had relied on the “seed organisations” – which included religious bodies, Jewish online networks and community welfare organisations – to contact potential respondents and initiate a “snowballing” process, whereby participants refer other potential respondents who fit the criteria of the study.