Members of Congress, including Reps. Brian Mast and Josh Gottheimer, are introducing legislation aimed at putting an end to American tax dollars going to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The legislation comes in light of allegations that the agency has ties to terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihadists. The lawmakers are demanding that the U.S. State Department do everything it can to recoup the $121 million that was recently transferred to UNRWA before the Biden administration announced a freeze on additional funds going to the agency.
Reports have surfaced indicating that at least a dozen UNRWA employees joined or assisted Hamas terrorists during an attack on Israeli border communities, resulting in significant casualties and hostages being taken. The Biden administration had already transferred $121 million to UNRWA before announcing a freeze on additional funding due to these allegations. The bipartisan legislation introduced by Mast and Gottheimer aims to recoup that money and separate the U.S. from the agency, which has faced accusations of having deep ties to Hamas in Gaza.
U.S. intelligence reports have suggested that some UNRWA employees may have participated in the attack on Israeli border communities, but they were unable to verify wider links between the agency and Hamas. In response, the Israeli government shared a dossier with its allies, naming 12 UNRWA employees who had ties to and assisted Hamas during the attack. This led to the agency firing the employees named in the allegations, although the damage had already been done. The dossier also revealed that a significant number of UNRWA employees, including teachers and school principals, were believed to have ties to Hamas. Allegations of glorification of martyrdom and antisemitism in UNRWA school textbooks were also included in the report.
Following the release of the dossier and subsequent actions taken by the U.S. and other countries to cut financial ties with UNRWA, Congress passed legislation to defund the agency until 2025. This move comes after former President Trump took action against UNRWA during his time in office, signaling a continued effort to hold the agency accountable for its alleged ties to terrorist groups. The bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Mast and Gottheimer is part of a broader effort to ensure that American tax dollars are not being used to fund organizations with connections to terrorism.
While the U.S. and other countries have taken steps to cut financial ties with UNRWA, the agency continues to face scrutiny over its alleged ties to terrorist organizations and its use of taxpayer funds. The bipartisan legislation introduced by Reps. Mast and Gottheimer seeks to hold the U.S. State Department accountable for ensuring that American tax dollars are not being used to fund organizations with ties to terrorist groups like Hamas. The legislation represents a bipartisan effort to address concerns about the use of taxpayer funds and hold UNRWA accountable for its actions.
