U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with Senator Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and 24 other senators, sent a letter supporting the Trump administration’s decision to exclude the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from participating in the Gaza peace process. The senators cite concerns about UNRWA’s alleged ties to Hamas.
The letter states: “As discussions on Gaza’s future continue, we must avoid repeating the mistakes that empowered the terror group to take hold in the first place. For decades, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has operated in Gaza, yet extensive reporting, investigations, and intelligence assessments documented systemic infiltration of the agency by Hamas and other U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations.”
The lawmakers referenced reports indicating that some UNRWA employees participated in attacks led by Hamas on October 7 and that a portion of its staff allegedly have connections to terrorist groups. They also claim that aid supplied by UNRWA has been stolen by Hamas and that weapons have been found in schools run by the agency.
“In response to these alarming findings, the United States rightfully suspended funding to UNRWA and Israel barred the agency from operating on its territory,” according to the letter. “These steps were necessary because UNRWA has shown it cannot maintain neutrality or operate without being co-opted by terrorists. During your recent visit to Israel, you reaffirmed UNRWA’s ties to terrorism, describing the agency as ‘a subsidiary of Hamas’ and making clear that it ‘is not going to play any role’ in the delivery of aid to Gaza. Reinstating UNRWA would only recreate the very conditions that allowed Hamas to entrench itself and exert control in Gaza.”
The senators urge that UNRWA be excluded from any future efforts related to stabilizing or rebuilding Gaza. “We strongly urge the administration to ensure that UNRWA play no role in any efforts to stabilize, govern, and rebuild Gaza,” they wrote. “Instead, we encourage the United States to work with vetted international partners, trusted regional actors, and nongovernmental organizations that are demonstrably free of terrorist influence and committed to transparency, accountability, and peace.”
Additional signers include Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ted Cruz (R-TX), James Lankford (R-OK), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Mike Lee (R-UT), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), and John Hoeven (R-N.D.).
