Trump administration officials have held advanced discussions about the possibility of imposing anti-terrorism sanctions on the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, raising serious legal and legal concerns. … humanitarian affairs at the Department of State.
The United Nations agency operates in Gaza, West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, providing aid, education, healthcare, social services and shelter to millions of Palestinians.
Senior UN and UN Security Council officials have described UNRWA as the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza, where the two-year war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe.
However, the Trump administration has accused the agency of having ties to Hamas, accusations that UNRWA has strongly denied.
Washington has long been UNRWA’s largest donor, but suspended its funding in January 2024 after Israel accused a dozen UNRWA employees of participating in the deadly October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza.
In October this year, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the agency of becoming an “affiliate of Hamas”. organization that the United States designated as terrorist in 1997. It was not immediately clear whether ongoing U.S. negotiations were aimed at sanctioning the entire agency, or just specific UNRWA officials or parts of its operations, and U.S. officials do not appear to have decided on the precise type of sanctions they would pursue against UNRWA.
Between possibilities discussed by State Department officials is to declare UNRWA a “foreign terrorist organization” (FTO), according to sources, although it is unclear whether this option, which would severely isolate UNRWA financially, is still a serious consideration.
Any drastic action against the entire organization could derail efforts to help refugees and cripple UNRWA, which is already facing a funding crisis.
Unprecedented and unjustified
Sanctioning UNRWA on terrorism-related grounds would be surprising and unusual, given that the United States is a member and host country of the United Nations, which established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in 1949.
William Deere, director of UNRWA’s Washington office, said the agency would be “disappointed” if U.S. officials actually discussed designation as a foreign terrorist organization. He added that such a move would be “unprecedented and unjustified.”
“From January 2024, Four independent entities investigated the neutrality of UNRWA, including the United States National Intelligence Council. Although it happened at different times and from different angles, they all came to the same conclusion: UNRWA is an indispensable, neutral and humanitarian actor,” Deere said.
In response to a request for comment, a State Department official called UNRWA “a corrupt organization with a proven history of complicity with terrorists.”
“Everything is on the table,” the official said. “No final decision has yet been made”
The White House did not respond to requests for comment. The State Department and other departments have a variety of sanctions options, typically allowing asset freezes and travel bans targeting specific individuals and entities. The designation of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (FTO) would be one of the toughest tools at Washington’s disposal, and These designations are typically reserved for groups that kill civilians, such as groups affiliated with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. Dozens of key U.S. allies fund UNRWA, raising questions about whether foreign officials could face sanctions for helping an organization if Washington sanctions UNRWA or any of its officials for terrorism-related reasons.
The United Nations has claimed that nine UNRWA personnel may have been involved in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 and may have been fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon, killed in September by Israel, also worked for UNRWA. The UN has vowed to investigate all allegations made and has repeatedly asked Israel for evidence, which it says has not been provided.
Debates raise humanitarian and legal concerns
Sources with direct knowledge of the UNRWA talks, who requested anonymity to disclose the non-public deliberations, have privately expressed various humanitarian and legal concerns, given the organization’s unique role in helping displaced Palestinians. State Department Staffpolitical appointee, in office since the start of Trump’s mandate, has generally led efforts to impose terrorism-related sanctions on UNRWA, according to sources.
Ministry officials, including some lawyers responsible for drafting the text of the appointments, responded, these sources added.
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