Members of US Congress demand reinstating full funding UNRWA

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Feb 2024 12:16

US lawmakers, including Representative Pramila Jayapal, have raised concerns about the severe restrictions on humanitarian aid in the region, particularly in Gaza.

Israeli occupation soldiers take up position as they raid the UNRWA headquarters in the Gaza Strip, on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (AP)

Fifty US Congress members urged for the complete funding of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to deliver critical humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip.

In a statement, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal said, "For decades, UNRWA has played a unique and integral role in supporting the welfare and survival of Palestinians."

Jayapal mentioned that the availability of humanitarian aid in the region is already significantly limited.

"Prohibiting United States funding for this organization, which has been on the frontlines of conflict in Gaza, is especially irresponsible and unacceptable given our country’s historic role as the largest contributor to UNRWA. There is no question in my mind that revoking funding for UNRWA will lead to more devastation and loss of life in Gaza," she added.

"And I’m glad to see an independent investigation into allegations against the small number of UNRWA employees. We must ensure though that those acting in good faith to save civilian lives are not undermined by a lack of US funding," Jayapal said.

On his part, Congressman Andre Carson said that depriving millions of innocent civilians of shelter, food, water, sanitation, and healthcare is "simply cruel".

"The campaign to discredit UNRWA’s track record because of unsubstantiated allegations, against a small fraction of UNRWA’s employees, attempts to distract from the reality of a devastating, urgent humanitarian crisis in Gaza," he said.

He emphasized the need for Congress and the Biden administration to release frozen funds for UNRWA promptly and restore the critically required funds.

Congressman Jamie Raskin asserted that UNRWA is vital for delivering assistance to the "besieged and desperate" population of Gaza.

"While I support a timely, thorough, and independent investigation of profoundly disturbing allegations against a dozen UNRWA employees out of 30,000 workers, UNRWA is the only institution on the ground with the capacity to provide immediate life-saving assistance to Gaza’s 2.2 million people and address the escalating humanitarian catastrophe in the region," Raskin said.

Dive deeper

Last month, "Israel" accused UNRWA staff of having ties to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Despite lacking public evidence to support these claims, more than 10 donor countries, including the United States, Germany, the European Union, Canada, and Japan, suspended financial support. This significant loss of funding, which constitutes the majority of UNRWA's budget, is placing the agency at risk of running out of funds completely within weeks.

In a related development, a new report by the US intelligence revealed, last Thursday, that the latter evaluated the Israeli claims about the alleged involvement of staff members at the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) on October 7 and gave it a “low confidence” assessment, The Wall Street Journal stated, citing officials familiar with the latter.

The National Intelligence Council (NIC), a group of veteran intelligence analysts, worked on the four-page report, which was circulated within the US government last week, the sources revealed.

The Intelligence Council develops and sustains intelligence and information-exchanging relationships with international, military, domestic, and private sector partners to boost intelligence-related communications. Its authority to conduct such activities is governed by many laws and regulations mainly the "Executive Order 12333, United States Intelligence Activities," which was amended in 2008.

The order specifies strategic goals and defines roles and responsibilities within the IC, while also "affirming the Nation’s commitment to protect Americans’ civil liberties and privacy rights in the conduct of intelligence activities."

The US intelligence report's “low confidence” assessment emphasized that the intelligence officials find "Israel’s" claims that a dozen UNRWA employees took part in the attacks "plausible", yet no stronger confirmation can be made for the lack of independent evidence to back them.