UNRWA To Cut Services After Fundraising Falls Short

The agency has a lengthy history of providing its schools with an antisemitic and inciting educational materials, and its employees have been documented on multiple occasions calling for violence against Israelis and Jews. The terrorist groups controlling Gaza have been found to store weapons and launch rockets from UNRWA schools and other sites.

UNRWA officials have also openly advocated for the “right of return” for all original Palestinian Arab refugees and their descendants, which would bring about the end of Israel as a Jewish state. This goal is part and parcel of UNRWA’s unique mandate to avoid resettlement to other countries and to keep adding new “refugees” to its rolls. 

Multiple countries have cut or decreased funding UNRWA funding as a result of these controversies, and also due to budget pressures stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the Biden administration restored the funding cut under Trump, announcing just last week a contribution of $154 million.

The United States and UNRWA signed a Framework for Cooperation last week setting forth understandings for 2023-24 funding. It includes commitments on accountability, transparency and consistency with U.N. principles, including neutrality. Specifically, UNRWA pledged that it would exert all efforts to ensure that U.S. funding did not reach anyone who has engaged in terrorism or is undergoing military training.

Hamas denounced the agreement, accusing UNRWA of bowing to U.S. pressure.