The Biden administration has temporarily suspended assistance to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees following allegations that some of its employees took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
The State Department said Friday it was “extremely troubled” by the allegations and had paused additional aid to the UN Relief and Works Agency pending a review of the claims and any action the UN takes to address them.
It said Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken to UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday to inform him of the decision, which is a significant reversal from the administration’s past support for UNRWA.
Blinken had visited UNRWA’s offices in Jordan just a month ago and praised the agency’s work in Gaza while lamenting the deaths of dozens of its employees in the conflict.
“We welcome the decision to conduct such an investigation and Secretary General Guterres’ pledge to take decisive action to respond, should the allegations prove accurate,” the department said of the UN probe.
“We also welcome the UN’s announcement of a ‘comprehensive and independent’ review of UNRWA. There must be complete accountability for anyone who participated in the heinous attacks of October 7,” it said.
Shortly after taking office, the Biden administration resumed funding to UNRWA that had been cut off during Donald Trump’s presidency.
The head UNRWA said he fired several employees and ordered an investigation following Israel's allegation that some of the agency's staff took part in the October 7 attacks.
In a statement Friday, Philippe Lazzarini described the allegations as “shocking.” He said his agency condemns the attacks, in which militants killed about 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. He called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages to their families.
Lazzarini said Israeli authorities provided his agency with information about the alleged involvement of several employees in the attacks. The refugee agency, which provides education, medical care and welfare services to hundreds of thousands of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, has tens of thousands of employees.
“Anyone who betrays the fundamental values of the United Nations also betrays those whom we serve in Gaza, across the region and elsewhere around the world,” Lazzarini said.
He said that in addition to the people fired, additional agency employees would be held accountable, including through criminal prosecution, if they were found to have been involved, he said.
