US funding to a UN agency whose staff members are accused of attacking Israel exceeded $7 billion

Paresh Jadhav

11 months ago

The United States contributes billions of dollars each year to the United Nations and its various agencies and programs, most notably through assessed contributions that fund its regular budget as well as specific programs.

U.S. authorities have also placed sanctions on several United Nations (UN) organizations which Israel accuses of supporting Hamas. See how those funds have been dispersed through our new chart.

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Over $7 Billion in US Funding Went to UN Agency Whose Employees Accused in October Attack in Israel

In Fiscal 2024, the United States paid nearly $122 million to UNRWA before suspending further support to investigate allegations that one or more employees may have participated in Hamas’ attack in Israel on October 7.

UNRWA announced on Sunday it has received information from Israeli authorities that 12 employees of its were involved in an attack which killed 260 people and left more than 5,000 wounded in southern Israel on Tuesday. UNRWA director of operations Bruno Lazzarini announced they have fired these staff members involved.

Power & Politics spoke with Canada’s Ambassador to the UN, Bob Rae, regarding Canada’s decision to suspend funding until there has been a full investigation of allegations against 12 employees at UNRWA. His answer? Four weeks.

u.s. Funding for UNRWA

UNRWA was established in 1949, serving five million stateless Palestinian refugees. Many Israeli politicians, however, claim it impedes peace negotiations and fosters hopes of returning to what Israel considers pre-1948 borders.

An Israeli dossier reviewed by Reuters alleges that 190 UNRWA employees–including teachers–have doubled as Hamas or Islamic Jihad members. Furthermore, 12 individuals may have taken part in the October 7 terror attack at Kibbutz Be’eri that claimed 97 lives.

These allegations prompted countries that fund UNRWA – including the United States – to suspend payments to UNRWA, including suspension of US payments. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini believes this funding pause will disproportionately harm Palestinians living in Gaza who rely on UNRWA services such as modern, secular education, vaccinations, and medicine – however donors have come in to mitigate its effect and UNRWA hopes to minimize any service reductions; but in the short term that may require cutting services altogether.

U.S. Funding for Gaza

Hamas has been accused of misappropriating aid money provided by the United States to Gaza through Hamas to fund terrorism activities, according to an expert at George Washington University. That’s due to strict laws as well as oversight agencies like GAO.

Still, several Republicans in Congress, such as Florida’s Rick Scott and South Carolina’s Tim Scott, have refused to fund USAID programs that go directly into Gaza. Their reasoning: providing such aid would only benefit Hamas leaders responsible for carrying out Oct. 7 attacks against Israeli civilians that killed more than 1,400, when more could be spent helping civilians in West Bank instead.

Power warns that this latest attack has created a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, with homes and hospitals destroyed, food supplies scarce and fuel reserves diminished. She strongly urges donors to recommit support for UNRWA as soon as possible – “we cannot allow Gaza to fall apart”, she stated.

U.S. Funding for Israel

Israel was America’s top foreign aid recipient in 2022, receiving over $317 billion when adjusted for inflation; $3.3 billion went directly towards military assistance.

The United States offers aid to Israel via government-to-government memoranda of understanding (MOUs). While these agreements don’t require Senate ratification and lack transparency, congressional oversight remains possible and oversight committees could potentially question them.

MOUs allow the government to bypass Congress and provide military weapons without tracking or end-use monitoring, undermining democratic principles in the United States . As this policy undermines democracy, its continuation should be altered in order to restore congressional scrutiny over this funding source. Those supporting current aid packages claim it supports vital defense cooperation with close allies like Israel in countering regional threats like Iran. They further claim UNRWA employees do not represent their entire agency and any accusations should not be politicized; according to estimates by nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, aid packages would cost the United States as revenue would decrease due to reduced tax collections due to reduced tax collections being lost by lost tax collections being reduced as well.