Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) weighed in on Israel’s claims that the U.N.’s Palestinian refugee agency, commonly referred to as UNRWA, is an agent of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, calling the accusations It claimed to be an attempt by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to crush the agency.
“The claims made by Prime Minister Netanyahu and others that UNRWA is in any way an agent of Hamas are completely false,” Van Hollen said in an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday. There is no doubt about that.” “If you look at UNRWA’s head of ground operations, he’s a U.S. Army veteran of about 20 years. You can be sure he’s not colluding with Hamas.”
UNRWA came under intense scrutiny earlier this year after Israel claimed that 12 of its employees took part in Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
The Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, carried out a surprise attack in southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people. More than 240 people were taken hostage, and it is believed that more than 100 are still being held.
Although no substantive evidence has been presented to support these claims, UNRWA Director-General Philippe Lazzarini said earlier this month that “serious action” had nevertheless been taken, including terminating operations. Suspicious member contract.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has wanted to eliminate UNRWA since at least 2017. That was his goal, not just in Gaza but in the other places you talked about,” Van Hollen said.
CBS newscaster Margaret Brennan also pressed the senator on why he believed Prime Minister Netanyahu was trying to end UNRWA, pointing out that UNRWA is one of Gaza’s largest aid distribution agencies.
“Yes, that’s exactly right. And Netanyahu’s government is making claims that up to 14 of those 13,000 people were involved in the horrific attack on October 7.” “We need to investigate it and hold all those people accountable. But… hold 14 people accountable for the misdeeds of essentially 2 million innocent Palestinian civilians who are dying of starvation. Let’s stop doing that.”
Mr. Van Hollen further claimed that Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to dismantle UNRWA because he sees it “as a means of continuing the Palestinians’ desire for a homeland.” And he has opposed the two-state solution. And this was his main objective: to prevent a two-state solution. ”
Following the allegations, the United States, along with nearly a dozen other countries, suspended funding to the agency. UNRWA said at the time that it had a strict “neutrality” policy, although it recognized the difficult situation in Gaza under Hamas rule.
Republicans in Congress have increasingly called for blocking further funding to the agency, but Democrats have acknowledged the seriousness of the accusations, saying they apply to a small percentage of the agency’s more than 30,000 employees. Emphasized.US funds UNRWA through your account It is subject to the State Department’s annual funding bill, which has a May 22 deadline.
Mr Van Hollen warned that cuts to UNRWA’s funding in the Gaza Strip, which was largely destroyed by Israeli shelling following the October 7 attack, would have far-reaching implications.
“And if you remove UNRWA in Gaza today, UNRWA becomes the main distribution system for food and aid. It means more people will no longer receive aid. So cutting them off is a big mistake,” he said.
The Maryland Democrat was part of a group of senators last week calling on President Biden to uphold the Foreign Assistance Act and end military aid to Israel. The senators argued that Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act requires the Biden administration to halt arms sales and transfers to Israel if Netanyahu’s government continues to block humanitarian aid to Gaza.
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