The United Nations Relief & Works Agency has been referred to as ‘effectively a branch of Hamas’
The Biden administration allocated $33.7 million from the American Rescue Plan, a COVID relief fund, to a Palestinian relief organization that has faced accusations of providing safe harbor to terrorists in Gaza and has been characterized as “effectively a branch of Hamas.”
The American Rescue Plan, a COVID relief fund passed with unanimous Democrat support in the Senate and nearly unanimous support in the House, designated $33.7 million for the United Nations Relief & Works Agency (UNRWA) through the State Department’s Migration and Refugee Assistance program. This funding was part of the $500 million set aside in the bill for the State Department to support migration and refugee assistance.
UNRWA has come under significant scrutiny in recent years due to allegations that it has not effectively prevented aid from falling into the hands of Hamas terrorists. Reports have indicated that UNRWA locations have been used for Hamas activities and the dissemination of Hamas propaganda within schools.
In 2014, the left-leaning New Republic characterized UNRWA as “effectively a branch of Hamas.”
Earlier this year, UN Watch reported that UNRWA schools were implicated in teaching children to harbor hatred towards Jewish individuals and glorify acts of terrorism. UN Watch also pointed out that UNRWA had admitted to the production and distribution of incendiary materials by its teachers but assured that such materials were no longer in circulation as of 2021.
In 2014, UNRWA acknowledged and condemned the presence of Hamas missiles at one of its schools in Gaza, which occurred twice within a week. UNRWA stated at the time, “UNRWA strongly and unequivocally condemns the group or groups responsible for this flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law.”
Professor Anne Bayefsky, who serves as the director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, expressed concerns about the repeated use of UNRWA facilities by Hamas for military purposes, such as staging, weapons storage, and hideouts. These facilities have also been employed as shields, offering cover to nearby military assets. Bayefsky further emphasized inappropriate relationships between UNRWA officials and Hamas. When such facts, which can be regarded as war crimes, come to light, the UN typically conducts a swift investigation, sometimes coupled with a superficial expression of regret, and continues its operations.
Bayefsky, who also holds the position of president at Human Rights Voices, noted that due to the repercussions of UNRWA’s past behavior, it is challenging and unwise to take them at their word and to assume they are a neutral party. Instead, there are concerns that they may be enabling Palestinian terrorism today.
In 2018, former President Donald Trump suspended funding to UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), a move that was criticized by some, including the Brookings Institution. Critics argued that cutting off this funding could negatively impact impoverished Gaza residents who relied on UNRWA for essential services.
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When President Joe Biden took office, his administration decided to reinstate funding to UNRWA, even though there were concerns that some of the aid could indirectly benefit Hamas, a designated terrorist organization. In March 2021, an internal State Department document was obtained by the Washington Free Beacon and verified by US Newzs Digital. This document revealed that U.S. officials were privately communicating their concerns about the possibility of U.S. funds for the Palestinian Authority potentially benefiting terror groups, including Hamas. Despite this risk, the State Department believed that providing assistance to the West Bank and Gaza was in the national security interest of the United States and aligned with foreign policy objectives.
The document stated, “We assess there is a high-risk Hamas could potentially derive indirect, unintentional benefit from U.S. assistance to Gaza. There is less but still, some risk U.S. assistance would benefit other designated groups. Notwithstanding this risk, the State believes it is in our national security interest to provide assistance in the West Bank and Gaza to support the foreign policy objectives.”
This decision reflects a complex balance between providing humanitarian assistance to those in need and the potential risk of aiding groups with terrorist affiliations, ultimately guided by the belief that it serves national security and foreign policy interests.
In July 2022, the Biden administration announced a significant contribution to UNRWA, providing $201 million in taxpayer dollars to the organization. This announcement marked the United States as UNRWA’s largest donor, further strengthening the financial support for the organization. The White House’s press release stated, “This contribution cements the United States’ status as UNRWA’s largest donor.” The total assistance provided to UNRWA during the Biden Administration amounted to more than $618 million.
It’s important to note that different sources may report slightly varying figures for the total amount given to UNRWA, as you mentioned the New York Post reported a total of $730 million. The specific figures can vary based on the timing of the reports and the allocation of funds. Nevertheless, these contributions underline the continued commitment of the Biden administration to support UNRWA and its humanitarian efforts in the West Bank and Gaza, despite the acknowledged risks of unintentional benefits to groups like Hamas.
“They don’t really have anything to go on in Gaza other than donations through things like the United Nations, which are funded by the American taxpayer,” Victoria Coates, Trump’s former deputy national security adviser, told US Newzs. Digital this week. “Now, we’ve cut that back under the Trump administration, but over the last couple of years that money has been flowing again.”
Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told US Newzs Digital that the decision to fund UNRWA “indirectly benefits Hamas”.
“We can say for sure that this will indirectly benefit the Hamas government in Gaza,” Schanzer said. “UNRWA provides the services that the government is supposed to provide… It has somewhat reduced the burden of the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip.”
Supporters, and even some critics, of UNRWA argue that the agency does much good in the region and that it is often necessary to work with UNRWA to get aid and assistance to Palestinians.
The United Nations posted on social media on Thursday that 220,000 people are taking refuge in 92 UNRWA schools.
“UNRWA’s human development and humanitarian services include basic and vocational education, basic health care, relief, and social services, infrastructure and camp improvement, microfinance, and emergency response, including in situations of armed conflict,” UNRWA’s website states.
UNRWA was established by charter after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War “to carry out direct relief and humanitarian programs for Palestine refugees” and is funded “almost entirely by voluntary contributions from UN member states”.
US Newzs Digital reached out to the White House and UNRWA and did not receive a response.
A State Department spokesperson told US Newzs Digital that UNRWA “remains a lifeline for millions of food-insecure Palestinian citizens through services such as food aid and a mandate from the UN General Assembly to provide education, health and emergency and social services. Other services.”
“As we do with other UN agencies, we are committed to serving as a strong partner to the Agency to help deliver assistance in the most efficient and effective manner possible, fully respecting the principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence, and in a respectful manner. Violations of the humanitarian principle of neutrality and human rights are never acceptable.”
Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) funds sent to UNRWA are being used to provide health services to Palestine refugees, protective equipment for health care workers, hospitalization services, and help to mitigate the economic impacts of the pandemic, a State Department spokesperson told US Newzs Digital. on vulnerable families.
“Oversight of U.S. funding to UNRWA includes oversight visits by Department staff to UNRWA facilities, direct programmatic and financial reporting to the United States, oversight of third-party reporting, review of audit results, and membership and the UNRWA Advisory Commission,” the spokesperson said.