GOP demands Biden permanently cut off UNRWA after staffers allegedly joined Hamas in Oct. 7 Israel attack

Republicans are condemning the Biden administration for reversing former President Donald Trump’s decision to cut off funding for the United Nations agency where a dozen staffers allegedly participated in Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel.

The Trump administration decided in 2018 to cease funding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, a move the Biden administration reversed in 2021 but paused on Friday after UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini announced the termination of the accused staffers. It is unclear if the State Department will permanently cut off future aid as GOP lawmakers are calling for. 

“UNRWA is supposed to be a humanitarian agency, yet their employees are supporting Hamas in its goal to eradicate the Israeli state and carry out genocide against the Jewish people,” House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this is another devastating consequence of the Biden Administration’s complete incompetence.”

Stefanik, the No. 3 House Republican, called on President Joe Biden to stop sending “U.S. taxpayer dollars to Gaza with no oversight and no accountability” and to go beyond a temporary suspension of funds for UNRWA. 

“The Biden Administration’s limited suspension of funds to UNRWA to cover up for their disastrous mistake is unacceptable,” she said. “Joe Biden must permanently cut off all funding to this antisemitic and violent organization.”

Stefanik was far from the only Republican demanding that the Biden administration permanently cease contributing taxpayer dollars to the U.N. agency. 

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN), who introduced legislation in December barring UNRWA from receiving federal funds unless it undergoes reforms, said on Friday that “no one should be surprised” that employees were involved in terrorist activities. 

“UNRWA policies, school curricula, and hiring practices systemically cultivate anti-Israel extremism & have supported the operations of Hamas terrorists,” Hagerty wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “It is unconscionable that Biden gave many millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars to this organization for three years.”

“Its despicable history of antisemitism is why I’ve long called to end U.S. funding of UNRWA,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) wrote on X. “Allegations its staff played a role in attacking and kidnapping Israelis take this to a horrifying new level. This organization should never receive another penny of U.S. funding.”

Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) slammed Biden directly, accusing him of “wasting our tax dollars on terrorists” and empowering Hamas and the Houthis. 

“This certainly ranks as one of your stupidest funding initiatives,” he wrote on X.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Representatives for the White House did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment. 

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement on Friday that: “The United States is extremely troubled by the allegations that twelve UNRWA employees may have been involved in the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. The Department of State has temporarily paused additional funding for UNRWA while we review these allegations and the steps the United Nations is taking to address them.”