Progressive US politicians push to fund UNRWA but face major opposition

Britain and EU have restored funding to Palestinian refugee agency, but Washington's continued delay leaves serious gaps

Representative Andre Carson, centre. Bloomberg

Progressives in the US Congress introduced legislation on Thursday that would see Washington resume funding for the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees, countering moves by politicians from both parties to cut off financing until at least 2025.

The UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act would rescind part of a bipartisan funding bill that President Joe Biden signed into law, which slashed funding to the agency until next year.

The bill picked up 65 co-sponsors, which is “more than notable”, Congressman Andre Carson, its lead co-sponsor, told The National on Thursday.

“While national security and international security concerns have been expressed, that should not be an excuse to allow hundreds of thousands and millions of men and women and children to suffer.”

But 65 Democratic supporters is not enough to pass a Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Bipartisan members of Congress supported the halt on US funding to UNRWA, and the leading Republican on the Senate foreign relations committee has said it is the “majority view” in Congress that the relief agency should be shut down altogether.

“Prohibiting US funding for this organisation, which has been on the front lines of this conflict in Gaza, is irresponsible and unacceptable,” fellow co-sponsor Pramila Jayapal said.

UN investigations have shown that nine UNRWA employees “may have been involved” in the October 7 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.

Britain and the EU restored funding, which they cut after Israeli allegations that UNRWA employees were involved in the attack, but Washington's continued hold has left serious gaps.

The UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act has also been endorsed by more than 120 organisations, according to Mr Carson, including Jewish-American groups Americans for Peace Now and J Street.

J Street's president Jeremy Ben-Ami said his organisation was proud to support the legislation, and that Washington must “stop playing politics with Palestinian welfare and Israel's security”.

The UNRWA is a mainstay of humanitarian aid in Gaza and has been the main provider of food, water and shelter since the war began.

Mara Rudman, former deputy envoy and chief of staff for the State Department's office of the special envoy for Middle East peace, was among those to warn Congress when aid was first cut that there is “no substitute” for the agency.