A U.S. security bill that would cut funding for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees sparks concern, as rights advocates say a years-long effort to dismantle the agency is taking its toll. magnitude amid the Israeli war against Gaza.
The $118 billion bill, a draft of which (PDF) was blocked in the US Senate on Wednesday, includes a provision barring Washington from allocating funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) .
Seth Binder, director of advocacy at the Middle East Democracy Center, said this would apply to humanitarian aid included in the bill as well as any previously approved funds for UNRWA that have not yet been allocated, for an amount totaling approximately $300,000.
“It is not clear… where and how this specific provision could become law, if it ever can,” Binder told Tel Aviv Tribune. “But it is nonetheless concerning given recent developments.”
UNRWA came under renewed scrutiny last month after the Israeli government accused a dozen of the agency’s more than 13,000 employees in Gaza of taking part in the attack on Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, which killed 1,139 people.
UNRWA immediately dismissed the employees in question and announced that it was launching an investigation into the allegations, which it described as “shocking” and “serious.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also appointed an independent commission to investigate.
Israel has yet to provide evidence to support its claims, but the United States and several other countries quickly suspended funding to the agency. UNRWA relies on government contributions to finance its operations in the occupied Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
In this context, the Senate bill – which had the support of President Joe Biden – reflected the growing bipartisan acceptance of what were previously Republican attempts to scale back UNRWA, said Ethan Mayer-Rich of the Arab Center from Washington DC.
“We are seeing a fairly rapid departure from what was once a division between the parties,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune. “It is reckless and, ultimately, I think history will see (the United States) as completely complicit in what is undoubtedly an incredibly tragic and disastrous situation.”
Mayer-Rich, the center’s liaison for U.S. government affairs, added that “the conversation is being driven in part by the Biden administration.”
“We have seen, at this point, an endorsement at the highest levels of power that it is acceptable for Democrats to question the mandate of UNRWA, to question the necessity of its mission, which has long been a Republican-led effort,” he added. ” he said.
“This is a message that will have a lasting impact on how Democrats talk about UNRWA and the necessary services it provides.” »
“A huge hole”
Indeed, current attempts in the United States to defund UNRWA come at a critical time.
The agency is leading humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza, where Israeli military bombardments have killed more than 27,708 Palestinians and caused widespread destruction since October 7.
Palestinians in the besieged enclave also face severe shortages of food, water and medical care. The local health system is on the brink of total collapse and more than 1.7 million people have been internally displaced. Many families have sought refuge in centers run by UNRWA.
Since the Biden administration announced the freeze on UNRWA funding in late January, senior U.N. officials – as well as human rights advocates and humanitarian aid groups – have made multiple calls asking Washington to reconsider its decision.
The United States had already provided $422 million to the agency in 2023, making it UNRWA’s largest contributor. These funds represented nearly 30 percent of UNRWA’s contributions last year, said Bill Deere, director of the agency’s representative office in Washington.
“If this proposal becomes law, there would be a huge gap to fill,” Deere told Tel Aviv Tribune in an email, referring to the Senate bill.
The legislation, which included more than $14 billion in additional U.S. security aid to Israel, had the support of the White House, but is unlikely to reach Biden’s desk for signing into law, particularly after Wednesday’s setback in the Senate.
Top Republicans also said it would be “dead on arrival” if it reached the House of Representatives, amid calls for tougher immigration measures.
Nonetheless, Deere – which described the atmosphere in Washington as a “difficult political environment” – said the bill “demonstrates that we need to continue to talk with lawmakers about the fact that UNRWA and the U.N. have acted quickly and decisively following the recent news. “.
He also warned that the agency “will have great difficulty operating beyond March 1 if donor states do not resume their support” and stressed that UNRWA operates beyond Gaza only.
“Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan will lose access to primary health care, direct food assistance, rental assistance and education,” he said. Deere said. “Beyond human decency, such an event also poses a problem of regional stability. »
Pressure reinvigorated
But despite these warnings, Republicans have used the accusations against UNRWA to revive a years-long effort to thwart the agency. “It’s something they’ve been trying to do for a long time and they really rose to the occasion,” Mayer-Rich said.
At least seven bills to defund or disband UNRWA have been introduced by Republicans in Congress since Israel’s allegations became public, according to a tally by the Arab Center in Washington, DC.
Republican lawmakers held a subcommittee hearing last week titled “UNRWA Exposed: Examining the Agency’s Mission and Failures.”
And a group of nearly two dozen Republican senators had demanded that the legislation include “an immediate and permanent ban” on U.S. aid to UNRWA. “The United States must permanently cease all contributions to UNRWA,” they said (PDF) on January 31.
The move comes less than six years after former Republican President Donald Trump ended U.S. aid to the agency in 2018, saying Washington was shouldering a “highly disproportionate share of the cost burden for UNRWA.”
The move – widely seen as part of the Trump administration’s hardline, pro-Israel stance – crippled UNRWA operations. Biden restored funding in 2021.
Tariq Kenney-Shawa, an American policy researcher at the Palestinian think tank Al-Shabaka, said Israel and its allies in the United States have been attacking UNRWA for decades in an effort to weaken the right of Palestinian refugees to returning to what is now Israel, a long-standing conflict. permanent demand.
“What Republicans would like to see is a dismantling and defunding of UNRWA so that the Palestinian refugee ‘problem’ can fade into the annals of history,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
While Republicans have always been the “loudest voices” lobbying UNRWA, Kenney-Shawa explained that the unwavering support for Israel in the United States is bipartisan. Last month, some establishment Democrats also called for cutting funding to the agency, following the recent allegations.
He also highlighted the timing of the accusations against UNRWA and the reduction in US funding, just hours after the International Court of Justice determined on January 26 that Israel was “plausibly” committing genocide against the Palestinians. in Gaza.
“Representatives of the (Biden) administration have themselves emphasized the critical role that UNRWA plays in providing aid and support to Palestinian refugees and Palestinians in need,” Kenney-Shawa said.
“But at the same time, I think their biggest concern is providing cover for Israel at all costs – and I think that cost is the Palestinian refugees and UNRWA. »
The United States will “redirect” funding
Although the Senate bill is unlikely to pass in its current form, the UNRWA provision continues to cause concern.
The U.S. State Department acknowledged this week that the Biden administration is exploring other ways to support humanitarian efforts in Gaza because the legislation contains language that would block its ability to fund the agency.
Spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters on Monday that Washington plans to “redirect UNRWA funding to other partners to provide assistance to Gaza,” including the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Program (WFP).
The Senate bill included $1.4 billion in humanitarian aid for Gaza, Patel said. “This is tangible money that we believe will save lives and have a direct impact on Palestinian civilians. »
However, the heads of several UN agencies – including UNICEF and WFP – said last week that suspending funds for UNRWA would have “catastrophic consequences” because “no other entity has the capacity to provide” what is needed in Gaza.
The International Rescue Committee and other humanitarian groups also said: “UNRWA’s humanitarian role in this crisis is indispensable and cannot be remotely replaced by any other humanitarian organization.”
According to Kenney-Shawa, the future of UNRWA funding in the United States currently depends largely on the political will of the Biden administration and the Democratic Party.
“If the Biden administration is truly committed to providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, as it claims on paper, then there are ways to push back against Republicans and ensure that there are no provisions in these bills that automatically just cut spending. pure and simple financing,” he said.
But that seems unlikely, Kenney-Shawa explained, because it would mean standing up to Republicans and pro-Israel lobbying groups in an election year — and possibly appearing to defy Israel.
“I think Republicans, as always, are seizing the opportunity to sort of put the Biden administration between a rock and a hard place, knowing full well that ultimately the Biden administration will side with Israel. .”
