Republicans move to cut off funding permanently to Hamas-linked U.N. relief agency

United Nations Relief and Works Agency officials warn that they might need to shut down operations in Gaza unless the U.S. and other nations resume their funding, but they’re not getting much sympathy from congressional Republicans.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee plans to hold a mark-up session Tuesday on legislation that would ban permanently U.S. funding to UNRWA, a bill introduced last week after Israeli authorities released evidence that at least 12 agency staffers participated in the Hamas attack last Oct. 7 on Israeli civilians.

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans have introduced bills to cut off UNRWA aid, as well as legislation to halt funding to the U.N. itself until the relief agency is “permanently shuttered and the Secretary of State can certify that no U.N. employees in UNRWA’s current jurisdiction support terrorism.”

“We need policies that stop terrorism, not promote it,” Sen. Tim Scott, South Carolina Republican, said. “Not a single cent of American tax dollars should go toward the beheading of innocent babies, rape of women or murder of civilians.”

At least 16 nations have paused aid to UNRWA while the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services reviews the allegations. The move has prompted a plea from U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to reverse the suspensions in light of the “dire needs of the desperate populations” served by the agency.

“If the funding remains suspended, we will most likely be forced to shut down our operations by [the] end of February not only in Gaza but also across the region,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement.

Rep. Chris Smith, New Jersey Republican who sponsored the House bill, is skeptical. He noted that President Donald Trump suspended all funding to the UNRWA in 2018, and “they survived without the 30% of their budget the U.S. typically provides.”

President Biden restored UNRWA funding upon taking office in January 2021. Since then, the U.S. has contributed more than $1 billion to the agency, “making the United States once again UNRWA’s largest single donor,” said the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Another $371 million is earmarked for the current fiscal year. The State Department enacted a temporary pause on Jan. 26 “while we review these allegations,” but the department had already sent $122 million to the relief agency since October, as reported by the New York Post.

Joe Biden sanctioned Israelis who engage in actions “that threaten the peace, security, or stability” of the region, but he sent more than $121 million of our tax dollars to UNRWA despite its role in the October 7 attack.

His policy is: Reward our enemies and punish our allies.

— Rep. Brian Mast (@RepBrianMast) February 3, 2024

The GOP bills are likely to meet with opposition on the left. Democrats urging the Biden administration to restore funding include Sen. Bernard Sanders, Vermont independent, and “squad” Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

“Cutting off support to @UNRWA—the primary source of humanitarian aid to 2 million+ Gazans—is unacceptable,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez posted on X. “Among an organization of 13,000 UN aid workers, risking the starvation of millions over grave allegations of 12 is indefensible.”

Nations cutting off aid to the agency include Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Japan, Austria and Romania. But UNRWA also has its supporters.

Norwegian parliament member Asmund Aukrust said last week he has nominated the relief agency for a Nobel Peace Prize for its “long-term work to provide vital support to Palestine and the region in general.”

The issue is quickly becoming a rallying cry for conservatives. Twenty-six GOP attorneys general urged congressional leaders in a letter last week to end humanitarian aid to Gaza “until and unless the United States audits their staff to ensure they are not employing terrorists.”

Advancing American Freedom led a Monday letter from 70 conservative and pro-Israel groups urging Congress to stop funding the agency, calling it an “openly antisemitic and now apparently terrorist organization.”

With the U.S. and other nations showing no sign of budging, however, the U.N. announced Monday a second UNRWA review by an independent group to “assess whether the Agency is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and to respond to allegations of serious breaches.”

The final report is slated to be released to the public in late April.

Nine of the 12 agency staffers—all teachers—identified as participating in the Oct. 7 massacre of Israeli civilians have been fired, while one is dead and the identities of the other two “are being clarified,” the agency said.

Israeli intelligence also estimated that 1,200 of UNRWA’s roughly 12,000 staffers in Gaza have ties to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and about half of those have relatives in the groups, as first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Both are U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the allegations last week as “highly, highly credible” while emphasizing that UNRWA plays “an absolutely indispensable role” in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Republican Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Susan Collins of Maine called Monday for Mr. Lazzarini to be fired, calling UNRWA “a political tool used by Hamas to continue enriching its coffers.”

“He has never taken proactive steps to root out antisemitism from within the organization nor has he held the significant number of pro-terrorist employees, who still remain on the payroll of UNRWA, accountable for their hate,” said the letter to Mr. Guterres. “UNRWA has proven time and time again they are not a responsible agency that cares for the needs of the most vulnerable.”

It’s not the first time concerns have been raised about UNRWA’s pro-Hamas slant. Mr. Smith’s subcommittee has chaired three hearings on the agency since June.

“Going far beyond the revelations of the last week, there has long been massive and irrefutable evidence of UNRWA’s extensive connivance, complicity, and cooperation in Hamas’ antisemitic genocidal hate campaign,” said Mr. Smith after last week’s hearing of the House Foreign Affairs global human rights subcommittee.

H.R. 7122, which he co-sponsored with Rep. Brian Mast, Florida Republican, would prohibit the U.S. from making “any voluntary or involuntary contribution” to the relief agency.