<div dir="ltr">
<div class="gmail-inner-article-top"><h1 class="gmail-">US congress bans UNRWA funding over discredited Israeli allegations</h1><p class="gmail-">The
approved bill also conditions aid for the Palestinian Authority if
officials 'initiate or actively support' international probes that
expose Israeli nationals to war crimes charges</p><div class="gmail-another-name"><p><a href="https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9" style="color:rgb(164,4,4)">News Desk</a></p></div><div class="gmail-another-name" style="margin-top:16px"><p><span>MAR 23, 2024 - </span><font size="1"><a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/us-congress-bans-unrwa-funding-over-discredited-israeli-allegations">https://thecradle.co/articles/us-congress-bans-unrwa-funding-over-discredited-israeli-allegations</a></font></p></div></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-img"><img src="http://thecradle-main.oss-eu-central-1.aliyuncs.com/public/articles/866b86f2-e901-11ee-b3f7-00163e02c055.webp" alt="" width="450" height="253" style="margin-right: 0px;"><span>(Photo Credit: AFP)</span></div><div class="gmail-inner-article-content"><div class="gmail-row"><div class="gmail-col-md-8 gmail-col-sm-7"><div class="gmail-article-content"><span><p>US lawmakers on 23 March <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/03/23/government-shutdown-avoided-senate-passes-funding-budget">voted</a>
to ban funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian
Refugees (UNRWA) through next year, even as over two million
Palestinians stand on the verge of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/22/obstacles-to-gaza-aid-deliveries-visual-guide">famine</a> as a result of the US-backed Israeli genocide campaign that has been raging for nearly six months.</p><p>The
bill was included in a massive $1.2 trillion spending package that
seeks to avert yet another government shutdown. The package also
includes the $3.8 billion Washington sends to Israel every year.</p><p>Furthermore,
the approved bill contains a long-standing provision that conditions
aid to the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) if “the
Palestinians initiate an International Criminal Court (ICC) judicially
authorized investigation, or actively supports such an investigation,
that subjects Israeli nationals to an investigation for alleged crimes
against Palestinians.”</p><p>The White House announced early on Saturday
that President Joe Biden would sign the bill into law as soon as it
reached his desk.</p><p>Israeli Foreign Minister gleefully welcomed the
news on social media, writing: “The historic ban on US funding to UNRWA
that passed today with overwhelming bipartisan support demonstrates what
we knew all along: UNRWA is part of the problem and can not be part of
the solution.”</p><p>“UNRWA will not be a part of Gaza’s landscape in
the aftermath of Hamas. Thousands of UNRWA employees are involved in
Hamas terror activities, and their facilities were used for terrorist
purposes,” the top Israeli diplomat added.</p><p>In January, Tel Aviv
launched a global smear campaign against UNRWA, alleging that staff
members from the humanitarian agency had been involved in the 7 October
resistance attack on southern Israeli settlements. Tel Aviv has provided
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/no-evidence-israel-back-unrwa-accusations-says-eu-humanitarian-chief-2024-03-14/">no evidence</a> for the claim.</p><p>The
campaign was launched on the same day the International Court of
Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel is plausibly committing genocide in
Gaza.</p><p>Following a thorough internal investigation into the claims,
the UN agency revealed earlier this month that the confessions from
UNRWA staff about having “Hamas ties” were obtained via <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/unrwa-staffers-tortured-by-israeli-troops-to-falsely-admit-hamas-links">torture</a>, including severe beatings, waterboarding, the use of attack dogs, and threats of harm to family members.</p><p>Tel Aviv's smear campaign also included a massive <a href="https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-deploys-army-of-bots-to-spread-anti-unrwa-propaganda-report">online influence</a>
operation using hundreds of fake social media accounts to amplify
reports claiming the involvement of UNRWA workers in the 7 October
resistance attack.</p><p style="margin-left:0px">Researchers at Fake
Reporter pinpointed three fake ‘news sites’ specifically created for the
operation. The sites amplified reports copied from other real news
outlets, such as CNN<i>, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Jerusalem Post</i>, and <i>The Times of Israel,</i> which promoted Israel's narrative about the war.</p><p style="margin-left:0px">Hundreds
of fake social media accounts then intensively promoted the "reports"
from specially-created websites and other news outlets.</p><p style="margin-left:0px">Hours before Washington moved to cut funding to the vital aid agency, EU foreign policy chief <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/eu-foreign-policy-chief-hails-resumption-of-unrwa-funding-from-more-countries/3171997">Josep Borrell</a> hailed the resumption of funding for UNRWA from more western countries, including Finland and Canada.</p></span></div></div></div></div>
</div>