US Finally Cuts Off Funding to UNRWA Over Staff’s Alleged Ties to Hamas

The U.S. State Department has finally pushed PAUSE for additional funding to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) over reports that at least a dozen employees helped carry out the October 7 terror attacks and brutal abductions of civilians in Israel.

Reports of the U.N. agency’s staff involvement began circulating in November and December, sparking bipartisan outrage from politicians, legal groups like the ACLJ, and hard-working Americans struggling to wrap their minds around the atrocities committed by Hamas – especially people on the payroll at UNRWA. ACLJ Senior Counsel and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently touched on the UNRWA-fueled anti-Israel hate that was celebrated after October 7, calling it a sad but “entirely predictable outcome.”

One shocking report came from an Israeli citizen held hostage for nearly 50 days in Gaza – trapped in the attic of a teacher from UNRWA who provided limited food and medical help.

The decision to pause funding, announced in a press release on Friday, is a major win for Israel, its allies, and American taxpayers concerned that the United States has been subsidizing the U.N. group that operates in Gaza and the West Bank on a “humanitarian” mission.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday about the allegations against UNRWA and the need to open an investigation. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller commented, “We also welcome the UN’s announcement of a ‘comprehensive and independent’ review of UNRWA. There must be complete accountability for anyone who participated in the heinous attacks of October 7.”

On Friday, UNRWA announced its decision to “immediately terminate the contracts” of the staff members in question after the agency received information from Israeli authorities of their alleged involvement in the brutal attacks. The U.N. has also pushed for criminal prosecution of those same employees.

A shocking investigation by UN Watch, a group based in Switzerland, detailed the extent of antisemitism and open terrorism taught and promoted in UNRWA-run schools throughout Gaza and the West Bank. Teachers used social media to praise the Hamas terror attacks, and incredibly, at least 100 Hamas fighters were confirmed as graduates of UNRWA schools.

Friday’s move by UNRWA to fire staff caught up in the terror investigation is refreshing but is hardly a start at addressing the systemic antisemitism it funds. In its report, published in November 2023, UN Watch remarked, “Even when UNRWA has taken disciplinary action, its approach has been inconsistent, equivocal, and non-transparent, sending the counterproductive message that employee violations of UNRWA’s neutrality are, in practice, tolerated.”

Hours after the announcement, NSC Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby outright admitted, “Certainly looks as if there’s cause to be concerned about the actions of some of the members of UNRWA.”

Kirby’s admission is an abrupt about-face. Just weeks ago, the Biden Administration did not seem excited about exploring UNRWA’s ties to terrorism, and Kirby downplayed the group’s cozy connections to Hamas: “And you can’t hold them [UNRWA] accountable for the depredations of Hamas and the way Hamas uses civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, to – for command and control, for storage of weapons, for the holding of hostages.”

Clearly, any spotlight cast on Hamas and UNRWA also sheds light on U.S. connections, specifically slush fund money from the State Department funneled into Gaza and the West Bank by way of UNRWA.

Thus, the unwanted attention sparked a pressure campaign to end the funding. For instance, Senator Marsha Blackburn (TN) led the charge on Capitol Hill demanding an immediate investigation.

However, irreversible support for Hamas and anti-Israel terrorist groups may already have been committed. Though the Trump Administration paused the cash flow to UNRWA in 2018, almost immediately, the Biden Administration restarted the funding. Since then, U.S. taxpayers have forked over nearly $1 billion. UNRWA received a cash drop of $73 million just weeks before the October 7 attack.

To take direct action, the ACLJ launched a petition to stop the U.S. funding of UNRWA or any government organization that props up Israel’s enemies. Also, on December 6, 2023, the European Centre for Law and Justice sent a letter to the U.N.’s Independent Commission of Inquiry demanding an investigation into UNRWA after Hamas was caught using the group’s facilities for military purposes.

The ACLJ will never stop fighting to defend Israel and shining a light on funding being sent to enemies of Israel. The decision to pause funding is a good start, but more light must be shed on the money going to UNRWA.