During the last 15 years, U.S. taxpayers have given an astonishing sum of money to UNRWA, a United Nations refugee company for Palestinians that critics have lengthy mentioned promoted an anti-Israel agenda within the Center East and not too long ago got here below scrutiny for its alleged ties to Hamas.
From 2009 to 2024, somewhat below $4 billion in taxpayer {dollars} was given to the humanitarian aid group, in line with a Fox Information Digital assessment.
Throughout former President Obama’s tenure within the White Home, from 2009 to 2016, the U.S. gave roughly $2.43 billion to UNRWA.
Following the Obama presidency, former President Trump took workplace and the U.S. continued delivering taxpayer funds to the company earlier than his administration slashed funding for UNWRA. Some $400 million was given to UNRWA by way of 2017 and 2018, however following the Trump administration’s suspension of funds, nothing extra was given in the course of the latter half of his tenure.
BIDEN DELIVERED $121M IN TAXPAYER FUNDS TO HAMAS-TIED UNRWA SINCE OCTOBER, STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS
From 2009 to 2024, somewhat below $4 billion in taxpayer {dollars} was given to UNRWA, in line with a Fox Information Digital assessment. (Mahmoud Issa/SOPA Photographs/LightRocket through Getty Photographs)
Upon taking workplace in January 2021, President Biden resumed giving funds to UNRWA. To this point, the Biden administration has despatched greater than $1 billion in taxpayer funds to the company.
Since October, the Biden administration has despatched about $121 million in taxpayer funds to UNRWA. A remaining $300,000 in appropriated funds for this fiscal yr was purported to be delivered to the company within the subsequent few weeks. Nevertheless, the U.S. froze these funds over allegations that some UNRWA members participated within the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist assault on Israel, in line with State Division spokesman Matthew Miller.
“That funding has been suspended,” Miller instructed reporters on the State Division day by day press briefing. He added that it was “unimaginable” to say how far more the U.S. might present to UNRWA this fiscal yr if the funds are unfrozen, as a result of the federal government is working below a unbroken decision.
Biden officers say the funds present humanitarian assist to the Palestinian folks, whereas critics say the group is “successfully a department of Hamas.”
State Division spokesman Matthew Miller mentioned Tuesday that it was “unimaginable” to say how far more the U.S. might present to UNRWA this fiscal yr if the funds are unfrozen, as a result of the federal government is working below a unbroken decision. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg through Getty Photographs)
One such critic, Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor on the Basis for Protection of Democracies, testified before the Home Overseas Affairs Committee on Tuesday and claimed UNRWA is a “horror present” that has been “co-produced by the USA taxpayer.”
Chatting with Fox Information Digital, Goldberg mentioned, “UNRWA, like different U.N. companies, doesn’t acknowledge Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah … as terrorist organizations.”
“For UNRWA, these are political labels. And so, they’ve a precept to not discriminate of their hiring, of their assist distribution primarily based on political affiliation, which sounds appropriate, you realize, this precept of neutrality that they declare. However really, what it means is that they don’t have any drawback offering assist and hiring people who find themselves members or associates of U.S. designated terrorist organizations,” he added.
US TAXPAYER-FUNDED UN AGENCY’S LONG HISTORY OF ENABLING HAMAS EXPOSED
Regardless of its described efforts to distribute funds pretty, Goldberg mentioned the company has “knowingly and willfully” funded Hamas members and their households.
He claimed they “put Hamas members on their payroll, distribute assist that can profit Hamas members and their households,” he mentioned. “And we in the USA know they’re doing this, have recognized this for many years.”
“Whenever you method UNRWA and say, you realize, you have to adjust to U.S. legal guidelines that prohibit assist to terrorist organizations, they are saying we take all kind of measures to stop assist going from any get together that is on the U.N. sanctions record. Nicely, Hamas and Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad, they don’t seem to be on a U.N. sanctions record. So that they’re guaranteeing that any greenback you give them will find yourself within the fingers of terrorists and terrorist organizations.”
Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor on the Basis for Protection of Democracies, instructed Fox Information Digital that UNRWA “knowingly and willfully put Hamas members on their payroll.” (Home Overseas Affairs Committee)
“On each degree,” Goldberg mentioned, the construction of the company “is designed to ensure collaboration, subsidy help, hiring, distribution of assist, all to/with terrorist organizations.”
UNRWA’s ties to Hamas have come into focus in latest weeks after Israel supplied the Biden administration with a brand new file containing details about how some 13 company staffers allegedly assisted or supported the Hamas terror assaults on Oct. 7.
Along with the U.S. placing a pause on “extra” funding to UNRWA in response to the file, different nations have adopted swimsuit. Germany, Italy, Australia, Finland, Netherlands and Switzerland have additionally joined the boycott following the accusations, which have already resulted within the termination of a number of staffers.
Miller mentioned the following anticipated cost to UNRWA would occur over the summer time and that the quantity would rely on how a lot cash Congress approves for the company in Biden’s $106 billion supplemental package deal request.
In a Jan. 25 letter to Texas GOP Rep. Michael McCaul, who serves as chairman of the Home Overseas Affairs Committee, William Deere, the director of UNRWA’s workplace in Washington D.C., wrote that UNRWA has a “zero-tolerance coverage with regard to workers neutrality violations and takes all credible allegations significantly.”
Deere additionally famous that an investigation was underway by UNRWA into what he mentioned have been the claims of “unchecked pro-Hamas exercise throughout the group, together with potential worker neutrality violations.”
Regardless of the terrorism allegations, the Biden administration has defended UNRWA, insisting that the whole company shouldn’t be judged by the purported actions of 13 folks.
UNRWA staff pack medical assist and put together it for distribution to hospitals at a warehouse in Deir Al-Balah, Gaza, on Oct. 25, 2023. (Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto through Getty Photographs)
“We very a lot help the work that UNRWA does, we predict it is vital,” Miller mentioned. “There isn’t a different humanitarian participant in Gaza who can present meals, drugs on the scale that UNRWA does.
“We wish to see that work continued, which is why it’s so vital that the United Nations take this matter significantly, that they examine it, that there’s accountability for anybody who’s discovered to have interaction in wrongdoing, and that they take no matter different measures are acceptable to make sure that this kind of factor can not occur once more,” he added.
The State Division and UNRWA didn’t reply to Fox Information Digital questions.
Fox Information’ Chris Pandolfo, Peter Aitken and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
