The United States and about a dozen other countries have paused additional funding for UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees, on the basis of Israeli allegations that some 190 employees of the organization are members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad — and that 12 of them took part in the October 7 attacks against Israel.
The allegations and subsequent funding pause are potentially one of the most consequential controversies for civilians in Gaza since the October 7 attacks triggered the war in Gaza. The cuts don’t mean UNWRA will have to shut down immediately, but unless funding is restored, the agency’s long-term mission — and continued humanitarian aid for Gaza — is in doubt.
The controversy started on Friday, just after the top UN court ruled that Israel must do more to prevent genocide of the Palestinian people as it continues to prosecute its war in Gaza, including increasing access to humanitarian aid. Without UNRWA, the primary facilitator for humanitarian aid in Gaza, that order becomes meaningless.
UNRWA was established by the UN in 1949 to provide assistance and services — schools, clinics, food and cash assistance, and shelter — for the Palestinian refugees from the 1948 Nakba, when some 700,000 Palestinians fled their homes in what is now Israel during the war that established the country. UNRWA serves the Palestinian population not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.
In October, the Biden administration secured $75 million in additional food aid for UNRWA after a congressional block on the aid due to concerns that the agency employed Hamas members.
But after the allegations on Friday, the US State Department announced that it would pull its funding while UNRWA was undergoing a review by the UN’s investigating body, the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS).
The US, Switzerland, Canada, the UK, Italy, Australia, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany,…
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