US authorities are poised to make a permanent pause in paying the major UN agency for Palestinians due to congressional opposition, despite the Biden administration’s insistence that the assistance group’s humanitarian mission is critical.
The United States, along with more than a dozen other nations, froze financing for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in January after Israel accused 12 of the agency’s 13,000 employees in Gaza of involvement in the October 7 Hamas attack.
The UN has initiated an investigation into the allegations, and UNRWA terminated some employees after Israel presented the organization with information about the charges.
