The United States has suspended critical funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in response to Israel’s allegations that 12 of their 13,000 employees (.09 percent) in Gaza took part in the horrific Hamas attack of October 7.
An independent investigation has been initiated but no finite conclusion has been rendered. (Use this link to read more.)
The decision by the U.S. to suspend aid to UNRWA, the primary source of support for millions of Palestinians, came only hours after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to take “all measures within its power” to prevent acts that could amount to genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Gaza is on the brink of a catastrophe. Today, virtually the entire population has been deemed at risk of starvation. Preventable communicable diseases are spreading at an alarming rate. Over two-thirds of the population has been displaced. The situation has been made even more dire by the weather – it is cold and has been raining, leaving people to sleep in the mud.
UNWRA is the lifeline for the 1.7 million refugees in Gaza and the millions of Palestinians in refugee camps throughout the West Bank, East Jerusalem and in neighboring countries. It is the largest source of humanitarian aid in Gaza providing, as best it can, clean water, food, medical care, and shelter. It is unconscionable to punish millions of vulnerable people, half of whom are children, for the yet unproven actions of a few.
If funding is not restored by the U.S. (its largest donor) and other countries, UNRWA’s Secretary General Philippe Lazzarini has indicated that the agency will be unable to provide aid after the end of February.
Take action today!
Please write, call, or text your elected representatives TODAY and tell them they must immediately resume U.S. funding of UNRWA – it is an absolutely vital lifeline to millions of people who are already suffering, and its loss would be unconscionable.
- Use this link to contact the White House
- Use this link to contact your senators
- Use this link to contact your member of the U.S. House of Representatives
Cover photo: Palestinian families who lost their homes take shelter at an UNRWA school in Deir Al Balah, UNRWA photo by Mohamed Hinnawi © December 2023