WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement after reports surfaced that several employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) may have participated in the October 7 attack on Israel.
“I am outraged by reports that several UNRWA employees may have participated in the horrific October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. The United States must suspend U.S. funding for UNRWA operating in Gaza until there is a thorough independent review of these allegations and full accountability, including prosecution, for any UNRWA employees who participated in these heinous terrorist acts. The United Nations must move swiftly and decisively to establish an independent mechanism to fully investigate the participation of UNRWA employees in the October 7 attacks, among other persistent concerns about violations of impartiality by the organization.
“While UNRWA took immediate action in this case, the reports are alarming. They serve as a reminder that UNRWA has long needed reforms to its operations as it has taken on a mission for far longer than its mandate imagined. I also remain concerned by the anti-Israel bias that is reflected in several UN entities and its member states’ policies. It must end.
“The tragedy of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza will continue to need our collective efforts and attention, now more than ever. The United States, our international partners, and our multilateral partners will need to continue to ensure that life-saving assistance gets to the innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza who need it most and who also are victims of Hamas cruelty.”
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