Republican lawmaker introduces bill to block all funds for UN Palestinian aid agency

Republican lawmakers have introduced a bill that would permanently block the United States from funding U.N. agencies that help Palestinian refugees.

Rep. Chris Smith (R.N.J.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Biden administration would not be able to support the Biden administration amid allegations that 12 U.N. agency employees took part in Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. The bill was introduced in response to the suspension of new funding.

Biden’s decision has come under criticism from progressive Democrats and aid groups because of the agency’s important role in providing aid to Gaza. At least nine countries have cut funding to the organization, and UNRWA has warned it may be forced to end aid to the 2 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Smith’s bill is titled “Suspension of Support for UNRWA Act of 2024,” and describes its purpose as prohibiting “aid that benefits Hamas or other causes.”

Republicans have expressed concern that the U.N. agency is not doing enough to address anti-Semitism and will hold a subcommittee hearing on the issue. Mr. Smith chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations.

The bill would allow the United States to make “voluntary or involuntary contributions to a successor or affiliated organization of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) or to the regular budget of the United Nations for relief and work for Palestine refugees. It prohibits “things”. Support for UNRWA or a successor organization. ”

UNRWA was established in 1949 to assist Palestinian Arabs displaced during the war that resulted in the creation of the state of Israel, but has expanded in size and provided financial assistance to descendants and their families. , began to provide education, housing, and medical services.

UNRWA provides services to Palestinian refugees across the Middle East, but before the current war between Israel and Hamas, more than half the population used its services, employed 13,000 people, and in the Gaza Strip. It is considered an important organization. Aid organizations are best placed to provide assistance amid conflict and spiraling humanitarian crises.

But critics argue that Israeli claims that 12 UNRWA employees took part in Hamas’s shocking October 7 attack on Israel contradict the fact that UNRWA promotes anti-Semitism in its educational materials and employs Hamas sympathizers. It argues that it vindicates long-standing criticism of the organization that it benefits US-designated terrorists. organization.

UNRWA’s executive director said it had launched an investigation into the allegations and terminated the contracts of nine staff members, adding that one suspect had died and the identities of the other two were being confirmed.

In prepared remarks for a House subcommittee hearing, Smith said President Biden’s suspension of funding for UNRWA was a “long overdue response.”

“Far beyond last week’s revelations, there has been extensive and irrefutable evidence for many years of UNRWA’s massive acquiescence, collusion and cooperation in Hamas’s anti-Semitic genocidal hate campaign,” Smith said. Stated.

Mr. Smith’s bill is likely to garner broad support in the Republican-controlled House, including among some of the most vocal critics of UNRWA’s mission, who generally say the organization’s benefits outweigh its shortcomings. It is likely to face opposition in the Senate, where Democrats hold a majority.

Former President Trump withdrew U.S. funding for UNRWA in 2018, but it was reinstated by the Biden administration.

Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) tried to block $75 million in funding for UNRWA in 2023, fearing that insufficient funding would deprive people in need of critical assistance. The proposal was rejected by the Biden administration amid concerns from organizations and aid agencies. certain foods.

The United States is the largest donor to UNRWA. In 2023, the Biden Administration responded to UNRWA’s funding request and provided $422 million to address the needs of Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.