American officials are getting ready to stop giving money to the main UN agency for Palestinians, and they might do it permanently because some people in Congress are against it. But the Biden administration says the aid group does important humanitarian work.
The US and many other countries stopped giving money to the United Nations group that helps Palestinian refugees because Israel said some of the agency’s workers were involved in a deadly event. 7 attacks by the group called Hamas.
The UN is looking into the accusations, and UNRWA let go of some workers because Israel gave the agency information about the accusations.
The United States gives a lot of money to UNRWA each year. But now they want UNRWA to fix any problems and show that they have done that before giving them any more money.
Even if the pause is lifted, only about $300,000 – what is left of money already set aside – would be given to UNRWA. Anything more than that would need permission from Congress.
Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress don’t want to give money to UNRWA. This means the US probably won’t start giving money to UNRWA again, even though Sweden and Canada have said they will.
A new bill in the US Congress gives money to the military in Israel and Ukraine. But it also has a rule that would stop UNRWA from getting money if the bill becomes a law. President Joe Biden’s team is in favor of the bill.
US officials say they know UNRWA is very important in giving out aid in the crowded area that has been almost brought to famine by Israel’s attack in the last five months.
“We need to prepare for the possibility that Congress may make that break permanent,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller during a press briefing on Tuesday.
Washington wants to help people in need by working with groups like UNICEF and the World Food Programme.
But the officials know that it is difficult to find a replacement for UNRWA.
“Other groups are helping in Gaza, but UNRWA is the main organization because of their long history and experience there. “
UNRWA is a facade.
Some Democrats in the US Senate, like Senator Chris Van Hollen, and some progressive members in the US House of Representatives, have said they don’t want to stop giving money to UNRWA forever.
However, getting new money would require some Republicans to agree since they have more members in the House. Many people do not support UNRWA.
“UNRWA is just a cover, that’s all there is to it,” Representative Brian Mast, the Republican head of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability, said in a statement.
“It pretends to be a charity, but it’s really helping Hamas by providing the necessary structures and support. ” “He is just giving American money to terrorists,” Mast said.
When Mast’s claims were asked about, Juliette Touma, who is the UNRWA Director of Communications, said that an independent review is being done by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna to check if UNRWA is neutral and if its staff and programs are not biased.
“Touma said that we want all countries, people, and groups to share any information about accusations against UNRWA with the investigation or review that is happening. ”
UNRWA was created in 1949 by a decision made by the United Nations. This decision was made after a war that happened when Israel was established. During this war, 700,000 Palestinians had to leave their homes because they were forced to or because they were scared and ran away.
Today, 30,000 Palestinians have jobs helping 5.9 million refugee descendants in Gaza, the West Bank, and nearby Arab countries. They do civic and humanitarian work.
In Gaza, UNRWA takes care of the enclave’s schools, healthcare clinics, social services, and gives out aid to people in need.
William Deere, who runs the UNRWA office in Washington, said that the US gives one-third of UNRWA’s money.
“He said it will be really tough to deal with. ” “Remember that UNRWA helps more than just Gaza. ” It’s about taking care of people’s health, helping them learn, and providing support in the community. It’s in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon.
Hamas fighters in charge of Gaza killed 1,200 people in October. In 7 attacks, they took 253 people as hostages in Israel. This led to a very violent war in the long conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Israel has attacked Gaza, where many people live. More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed, and a lot of buildings and things like roads have been destroyed. Now, many people don’t have enough food to eat.