A US Congressional deal has been struck to extend a ban until 2025 on US funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), reports Reuters.
This agreement emerges in the wake of allegations by Israel, which has accused numerous UNRWA personnel of actively participating in acts of violence orchestrated by Hamas on Oct. 7, with further claims that several hundred individuals associated with the agency have links to the terrorist organization.
The Senate passed legislation in February that stopped funding to UNRWA. The legislation, part of a broader package worth $95 billion, aimed to aid Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The funding will be blocked for a year, and details of alternative efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Arabs in Gaza will be disclosed after the legislation is made available to the public.
The UN has initiated an investigation on the charges made against UNRWA employees, and the agency has fired several of them, as per the report.
The US is UNRWA’s largest donor, providing $300 million to $400 million annually. According to the report, the US wants to see the results of that inquiry and corrective measures taken before it will consider resuming funding.
