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Members of Congress are looking to instrumentality enactment against a United Nations bureau serving Palestinian refugees successful Gaza, amid reports the planetary enactment assisted the Hamas panic group.
Reps. Brian Mast, R-Fla., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., are introducing authorities that would request the U.S. State Department does everything it tin to instrumentality American taxation dollars that went to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees successful the Near East (UNRWA).
"For mode excessively long, UNRWA has masqueraded arsenic a alleviation organization, portion successful world serving arsenic an incubator for Palestinian terrorists. Intelligence reports bespeak that arsenic galore arsenic 10% of UNRWA workers person nonstop links to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihadists," Mast said successful a connection to Fox News Digital.
He added: "It’s ludicrous that our hard-earned American taxation dollars were going to money this crap. The State Department needs to bash everything it tin to recoup this money."
DOSSIER REVEALS INFORMATION USED TO EXPLAIN UN AGENCY'S DEEP TIES TO HAMAS IN GAZA
"UNRWA has masqueraded arsenic a alleviation organization," Rep. Mast, R-Florida, told Fox News Digital. (REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo)
The authorities comes aft allegations surfaced that astatine slightest a twelve UNRWA employees joined oregon different assisted Hamas terrorists during their overnight onslaught connected Israeli borderline communities connected Oct. 7. The onslaught near much than 1,200 radical dead, and Hamas took much than 200 hostages from a euphony festival and from their homes backmost into Gaza.
After reports that immoderate UNRWA members helped Hamas, the Biden medication announced connected Jan. 26 that it would halt further payer dollars from going to the agency.
Just days earlier the freeze, however, the medication had already transferred $121 cardinal to UNRWA.
Mast and Gottheimer’s bipartisan measure hopes to recoup that sum to the U.S.
From 2009 to 2024, a small nether $4 cardinal successful payer dollars was fixed to the humanitarian alleviation organization, according to a Fox News Digital review. (Mahmoud Issa/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The authorities is portion of a continued effort from the U.S. — and different countries — to abstracted itself from the agency.
ISRAEL URGES PALESTINIANS TO EVACUATE RAFAH AHEAD OF EXPECTED GROUND OPERATION IN HAMAS STRONGHOLD
U.S. quality successful February said it was apt immoderate employees of UNRWA participated successful the attack, but it besides said it could not verify Israeli allegations of wider links betwixt the bureau and UNRWA, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In March, the Israeli authorities named 12 UNRWA employees who had ties to and assisted Hamas during the Oct. 7 onslaught connected Israel successful a dossier that it shared with respective of its allies. Three were suspected of being progressive successful the kidnapping of the hostages oregon keeping them successful their homes.
Representative Brian Mast, a Republican from Florida, introduced authorities that would request the U.S. State Department does everything it tin to instrumentality American taxation dollars from UNRWA. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The bureau fired the 12 employees named successful the allegations, but the harm was already done and UNRWA mislaid hundreds of millions of dollars from donors aft the dossier was sent.
The accusation includes allegations that astir 1,200 employees shared immoderate transportation with Hamas — including astir 17% of UNRWA teachers (out of a full 8,300) and astir 20% of UNRWA schoolhouse principals and lawman principals (out of a full 500) are members of Hamas. Ties to the radical widen to UNRWA workers successful positions related to alleviation and humanitarian aid, with astir 10% of the 151 alleviation workers, and members of UNRWA’s wellness services.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-NJ, articulation Mast successful introducing the UNRWA legislation. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The dossier besides included excerpts from textbooks utilized successful the agency’s schoolhouse program that allegedly see glorification of martyrdom and antisemitic tropes. Maps provided to children successful their textbooks amusement a singular onshore wherever Israel and the Palestinian territories beryllium but labeled arsenic a singular Palestine.
After the study surfaced, Congress passed authorities to defund UNRWA until 2025.
Other governments likewise chopped fiscal ties to UNRWA.
The study and consequent effect comes years aft erstwhile President Trump took enactment against UNRWA erstwhile helium was serving successful the White House.
Fox News’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.
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