A group of 25 Republican lawmakers urged U.S. President Donald Trump to work with the United Nations to dismantle and defund the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, arguing ties to Hamas have compromised the agency.
In a letter sent on Monday, led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the legislators called for UNRWA’s dissolution, saying “achieving stability in Gaza requires ridding Gaza of the military, social and political infrastructure that fed Hamas’s power.”
The letter cited Israeli findings that at least 12 UNRWA employees participated in the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and claimed roughly 10% of the agency’s Gaza staff have ties to terrorist organizations. It also referenced an investigation by the U.S. Agency for International Development that, according to the letter, identified three additional UNRWA employees involved in the attacks and 14 others affiliated with Hamas.
The lawmakers further alleged Hamas has exploited UNRWA infrastructure in Gaza.
“Since Oct. 7, Hamas has repeatedly diverted UNRWA’s supplies, used its facilities to hide weapons stockpiles and tunnel infrastructure, and even used its buildings to hold hostages,” the senators wrote.
“Take decisive action to fully dismantle UNRWA and eliminate it from the U.N. budget,” they wrote. “Any aid organization in Gaza or otherwise must be demonstrably free of ties to terrorism and committed to transparency, accountability and peace. We must ensure this failed system doesn’t continue reinforcing the conditions that have fueled terrorism for generations. The time to act is now.”
Cotton stated separately that “funding UNRWA is funding Hamas,” adding that “this terrorist-filled organization should never receive another dime of funding.”
