Trump administration officials are currently in talks to impose terror-related sanctions on the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which has long been accused of complicity with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and serving as cover for their terror activities, according to a Reuters report.
As discussions within the U.S. State Department are ongoing, it is not clear whether the focus is on imposing sanctions on the entire agency or on certain officials. Nor is it clear which sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, are under consideration, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told the outlet.
In October, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described UNRWA as a “subsidiary of Hamas.” He said there is no role for the entity to play in delivering aid in Gaza amid concerns that UNRWA was actively or passively diverting aid to Hamas.
According to Reuters, one possibility the State Department has considered is declaring UNRWA a foreign terrorist organization—a decision that would severely isolate the agency financially. However, the outlet’s sources said it is unclear whether that option is a serious one.
Criticism of the U.N. agency intensified after multiple UNRWA employees were documented taking part in Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, leading to the United States and other countries and entities freezing donations. Israel officially banned the agency and its operations in January.
The United Nations has said it conducted a thorough investigation into allegations lodged against the agency and that appropriate action has been taken. Israel and others have questioned the veracity of those claims; at the same time, voluntary international funding for the agency has stalled.
Sanctions levied by the United States would severely curtail the ability of other nations to provide funding for or cooperate with UNRWA without running afoul of U.S. law, putting the agency’s existence at risk.
William Deere, director of the UNRWA office in Washington, told Reuters that the agency would be “disappointed” if such talks were taking place, and that potentially labeling UNRWA a foreign terrorist organization would be “both unprecedented and unwarranted.”
A State Department official told Reuters in response to its report that UNRWA is a “corrupt organization with a proven track record of aiding and abetting terrorists.”
“Everything is on the table,” the official said. “No final decisions have been made yet.”
