US lawmakers move to bar funds for UNRWA
A $1.2 trillion funding package put out by lawmakers says United States government money – either leftover funds from the current year or in the next fiscal one – “may not be used for a contribution, grant or other payment” for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Legislators released the plan to keep the US government running in advance of a deadline of midnight on Friday, when three-quarters of the government will run out of funds if a deal is not reached.
President Joe Biden’s administration has already suspended funding for UNRWA, despite saying its work in war-ravaged Gaza is invaluable, after Israel alleged several of its employees participated in the October 7 attack.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini previously dubbed the steps to suspend funding an “additional collective punishment” for Palestinians.
‘Diabolical attempt’: Group denounces UNRWA funding block
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) pressed Congress not to pass a bill that shuts down desperately needed money for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. CAIR said the legislation, if passed, would block funding until March 2025 and contribute to “starvation” in Gaza. The US historically has provided the UN agency with about $350m per year.
“We call on all Americans to urge their member of Congress to reject this diabolical attempt to support the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza banning funding for UNWRA,” said the group’s Robert S McCaw. “Numerous other nations, including Canada, restored funding to UNWRA after it became clear the Israeli government was baselessly trying to rob Palestinians of the relief agency.”
Israel accused several members of UNRWA’s staff of participating in the October 7 attack. The allegations have yet to be proven.
Lemkin Institute: 2023 ‘watershed year in history of genocide’
The US-based Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention says Israel’s war on Gaza contributed to making 2023 a “watershed year in the history of genocide”. It says in its review of the year that “Western powers act in complicity” in the war that has killed about 32,000 Palestinians and injured over 74,000 more, mostly women and children.
“All three major powers in the world, Russia, China, and the United States, were either actively committing or acting in complicity with genocide” in 2023, the institute said.
2023 was a watershed year in the history of #genocide.
During 2023 we saw the Western powers act in complicity with two cases of genocide -- against Armenians in the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and against Palestinians in Gaza (Palestine). All three major powers in… pic.twitter.com/8u3bkN5Eo4
— Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention (@LemkinInstitute) March 21, 2024
