Message from the Department of External Relations (DFLP) to German Political Parties and Organizations
Defending UNRWA and Ensuring the Continuation of Political and Financial Support Is a Legal and Humanitarian Imperative

Ladies and Gentlemen,
To the German political parties, institutions, associations, and civil society organizations,
Greetings from wounded Palestine, which continues to bleed under the ongoing Israeli war. We address you with this appeal on behalf of the millions of Palestinian refugees living in refugee camps in Palestine and across the Arab host countries, who are facing extremely difficult humanitarian and living conditions as a result of the comprehensive economic war waged by Israel—with the support of a number of Western countries—against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
UNRWA remains the primary provider of essential services to Palestinian refugees, including education, healthcare, and social relief. Targeting the Agency therefore constitutes a direct threat to their most fundamental human rights.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Germany is witnessing an escalating and coordinated political and media campaign led by research centers, lobbying organizations, Israeli-affiliated organizations, and political and parliamentary figures, aimed at pressuring the German government to halt its financial support for UNRWA. This campaign is based on allegations made by Israel against the Agency and a number of its employees. However, the United Nations and independent international investigations have found no credible evidence to substantiate these allegations in a manner that would justify the measures being demanded. On the contrary, they have consistently reaffirmed the necessity of maintaining UNRWA›s operations and its indispensable role in providing essential services to millions of Palestinian refugees.
Germany›s financial contribution has long been a cornerstone of UNRWA›s ability to sustain its education, healthcare, and relief programmes, and has historically played a crucial role in ensuring the Agency›s political and financial stability. During the years 2024–2025, Germany contributed approximately US$107 million (US$47 million and US$60 million respectively), compared with a total of US$1.7 billion provided over the last decade (2016–2025), making Germany one of UNRWA›s largest donors.
Although the German government remains officially committed to supporting UNRWA financially, a number of recent developments have raised serious concerns that this support could be reduced or discontinued in response to domestic and external political pressure. Among these developments are:
1) Germany›s abstention from voting in favour of renewing UNRWA›s mandate at the United Nations General Assembly in 2025, arguing that the reforms recommended by the Colonna Report had not been sufficiently implemented. This position contrasts with statements made by the Acting Commissioner-General of UNRWA during his meeting with Luxembourg›s Deputy Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, confirming that the Agency had completed 40 out of the 50 recommendations contained in the independent Colonna Report. Mr. Bettel likewise stated that 80 percent of the report›s recommendations had been implemented by March 2026.
2) The growing calls within the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) – Germany›s largest political party – to terminate funding for UNRWA and replace it with alternative mechanisms, such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Some internal party resolutions even advocate ending all German and European financial support for UNRWA, effectively adopting the Israeli position in its entirety.
3) Members of the CDU are also exerting strong pressure within both the German Bundestag and the European Parliament to secure a decision to suspend UNRWA›s funding, making any future financial support conditional upon three requirements: first, that UNRWA abandon its definition of Palestinian refugees, thereby ending the hereditary transmission of refugee status and promoting the integration of refugees into their host societies; second, that the Agency comply with an expanded interpretation of «neutrality,» which would effectively strip thousands of UNRWA employees of the right to express their national identity; and third, that future assistance be linked to ending what they describe as «payments to prisoners and the families of martyrs.»
It is no secret that Germany is living with a profound contradiction: while claiming to uphold human rights and international law, it continues to support Israel in its genocidal war against the Gaza Strip. This contradiction is also reflected in its position on Israeli crimes in the occupied West Bank, its refusal to support punitive measures against Israel within the European Union, and its intervention on Israel›s behalf in the case brought by South Africa before the International Court of Justice.
Palestinian refugees have likewise become victims of Israeli political blackmail through the exploitation of the complex historical legacy linking Nazi Germany and the Jewish people. This legacy has been disproportionately amplified and instrumentalized in Western political discourse to create a moral shield that protects Israel from accountability while constraining European capitals from adopting more balanced positions.
On behalf of the Department of External Relations of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), we express our sincere appreciation to all German political parties, organizations, institutions, and associations that continue to support the Palestinian people in various ways. We also call upon them—and through them, upon all sectors of German society—to continue working towards a balanced position rooted in international law and respect for justice and human rights. This includes making genuine efforts to help end the ongoing Israeli crimes and violations against our people and ensuring the continuation of both political and financial support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which remains a vital lifeline for millions of Palestinian refugees.
At the same time, we call upon the United Nations, UNRWA, the League of Arab States, and the Arab embassies in Germany and Brussels to intensify their diplomatic and political efforts to clarify the indispensable role played by UNRWA, emphasize the importance of maintaining its funding, and warn the German government against yielding to calls for reducing or suspending its financial support.
Any reduction or suspension of funding for UNRWA would have catastrophic humanitarian consequences for millions of Palestinian refugees who depend on the Agency›s essential services in education, healthcare, emergency relief, and social welfare. It would also deepen the humanitarian crisis and further undermine stability throughout the region.