Nine countries have hit the pause button on future funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This comes after allegations that some UNRWA workers may have participated in the October 7th attack on Israel.
Among the countries halting funds are the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom, all of whom are major donors to the UNRWA. These nations have decided to wait for the results of an investigation into the allegations, which have raised serious concerns about the agency’s possible ties to the terrorist group Hamas.
🚨Today, I introduced a bill that would push to permanently DISBAND UNRWA.
UNRWA is funneling American tax dollars to terrorism. And now we know that a significant part of the UNRWA workforce were participants in the October 7th attack.
No more.
— Rep. Brian Mast (@RepBrianMast) January 30, 2024
The UNRWA is responsible for providing much-needed humanitarian aid to Gaza, which has been under intense bombardment by the Israel Defense Forces in their mission to eradicate Hamas militants. But now, it seems that some of the very workers entrusted with distributing aid may have been implicated in the attack.
What’s even more troubling is that this isn’t the first time Israel has accused the UNRWA of colluding with Hamas. Israel’s foreign minister has gone so far as to call the agency the “civilian arm of Hamas in Gaza.” And with the recent allegations, it’s not hard to see why.
But the UNRWA is crying foul, claiming that the funding pause will only serve to worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza. They argue that the allegations against a few employees should not affect their overall funding and that they have taken swift action against those implicated.
However, it’s hard to believe that this is just an isolated incident. Hamas has a long history of using humanitarian aid for their own nefarious purposes, and it’s not far-fetched to think that they may have infiltrated the UNRWA as well.
Once again the Biden Administration has to concede that Trump was right all along. Trump endured breathless criticism for ending funding to UNRWA, a corrupt, anti-Israel organization with long-time ties to Hamas. https://t.co/YMVRS9Fo4e
— Cliff Sims (@Cliff_Sims) January 26, 2024
And let’s not forget that nearly 90% of the UNRWA’s budget comes from member nations, many of whom have strict laws and policies against funding terrorist organizations. How is it that the agency didn’t know about the possible ties between their employees and Hamas?
The UNRWA may argue that they are the primary humanitarian agency in Gaza and that cutting off their funding will only hurt innocent civilians, but let’s not forget that Hamas is the root cause of this conflict. If they were not launching rockets and terrorizing Israeli civilians, there would be no need for humanitarian aid in the first place.
🚨Today, I introduced a bill that would push to permanently DISBAND UNRWA.
UNRWA is funneling American tax dollars to terrorism. And now we know that a significant part of the UNRWA workforce were participants in the October 7th attack.
No more.
— Rep. Brian Mast (@RepBrianMast) January 30, 2024
In the meantime, these nations are still providing aid to Gaza through other means, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and UNICEF. And the UNRWA has stated that they will cooperate with the investigation and hold anyone involved in acts of terror accountable.
But the fact remains that until the UNRWA can ensure that their workers have no ties to terrorist organizations, our taxpayer dollars should not be funding them. It’s time to hold the UNRWA accountable and demand that they clean up their act before receiving any more funding.
As the fighting in Gaza continues, we can only hope that these countries stand their ground and do not resume funding until the UNRWA has proven that they are not aiding and abetting terrorists. It’s time to put an end to the culture of corruption that plagues this agency and start focusing on real solutions for the people of Gaza.
