Progressives Call for Biden to Restore Funding to UN Agency Whose Employees Were Accused of Joining Hamas Attacks

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks during a rally in support of the Biden administration's student debt relief plan in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Feb. 28, 2023. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Several progressive U.S. lawmakers are urging the Biden administration to restore funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which the White House halted after employees of the U.N. agency were accused of involvement in the 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel.

Earlier this month, Israeli government authorities presented UNRWA with allegations that as many as 12 of the agency’s employees participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. The U.S. State Department on Jan. 26 announced a temporary pause in U.S. funding to UNRWA, pending a review of the allegations and steps the United Nations will take to address those concerns.

Since then, some progressive lawmakers have urged the Biden administration to reverse course and reinstate the funding for the agency, which was established for the express purpose of providing humanitarian services to Palestinians displaced during the founding of the Israeli state in 1948.

“Obviously, it’s not acceptable for any of the 13,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza to be involved with Hamas, and allegations against the 12 people charged must be investigated,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on Jan 30. “However, we cannot allow millions to suffer because of the actions of 12 people.

“The United States and other countries must restore funding to stave off this humanitarian catastrophe.”

Mr. Sanders argued that UNRWA remains a vital source of food, water, and humanitarian services for the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. He said that about 1.1 million Palestinian civilians are at risk of starvation amid the halt to UNRWA funding.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also raised the UNRWA as the primary source of humanitarian assistance for 2.2 million Gazans and, in a post on the X social media platform on Jan. 29, said the decision to freeze support for the U.N. agency “is unacceptable.”

“Among an organization of 13,000 U.N. aid workers, risking the starvation of millions over grave allegations of 12 is indefensible,” she added. “The United States should restore aid immediately.”

In a statement she shared with Politico, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) cast doubt on the veracity of Israeli claims against the UNRWA.

“To take concerning allegations as fact without any investigation, especially in light of the Israeli government’s well-documented history of using torture and obtaining forced confessions, as a means to suspend life-saving aid demonstrates the emptiness of the Biden administration’s claims to care about Palestinian lives,” said Ms. Tlaib, who is the first Palestinian American member of Congress.

‘Highly Credible’ Allegations

At a Jan. 29 press conference, Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged UNRWA to investigate the allegations involving its employees immediately, review its procedures, and “hold people accountable as necessary.”

Mr. Blinken said the U.S. side hasn’t “had the ability to investigate” the allegations but called them “highly, highly credible.”

On Jan. 26, the U.S. State Department said it had reached out to the Israeli government for more details about the allegations against UNRWA employees and had briefed members of Congress on the matter.

The department is actively reviewing the evidence it has received from the Israeli government and is discussing these details with Congress on an ongoing basis, according to an emailed response from a spokesperson, who didn’t provide specifics.

The U.S. government has provided about $121 million to UNRWA this fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1, 2023, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a press briefing on Jan. 29. Mr. Miller said the current pause affects about $300,000 in funding that had been allocated but had yet to be transferred to the U.N. agency.

“We very much support the work that UNRWA does. We think it’s critical. There is no other humanitarian player in Gaza who can provide food and water and medicine at the scale that UNRWA does,” Mr. Miller said. “We want to see that work continued, which is why it is so important that the United Nations take this matter seriously, that they investigate it, that there is accountability for anyone who is found to have engaged in wrongdoing, and that they take whatever other measures are appropriate to ensure that this sort of thing cannot happen again.”

From NTD News