Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) criticized Israel's claims that the United Nations' Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) is a front for the Palestinian militant group Hamas, stating that the accusations are an effort by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to shut down the agency.
“The assertion that Prime Minister Netanyahu and others are making, that UNRWA is somehow linked to Hamas, are simply not true,” Van Hollen stated during an interview on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.” “If you look at the person in charge of operations for UNRWA, he is a U.S. Army veteran with 20 years of experience. It's certain that he is not collaborating with Hamas.”
UNRWA faced scrutiny. Earlier this year, Israel alleged that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in Hamas's attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
Hamas, a Palestinian militant group that has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007, launched an unexpected attack, killing around 1,200 people in southern Israel. Over 240 individuals were taken captive, with over 100 still believed to be held hostage.
There has been no significant evidence presented to support these claims, although UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated earlier this month that 'serious action' was taken regardless. This included the termination of the contracts of the accused members.
“Netanyahu has been aiming to eliminate UNRWA since at least 2017. This has been his objective, not only in Gaza, but also in other areas you mentioned,” Van Hollen noted.
CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan pressed the senator further on why he believes Netanyahu is attempting to shut down UNRWA, pointing out that the agency is one of the main distributors of aid in Gaza.
“Well, that’s correct. The Netanyahu government has made allegations that as many as 14 out of 13,000 individuals were involved in the horrific October 7 attacks,” he responded. “We should investigate and hold all those accountable. But let's not hold 2 million innocent Palestinian civilians, who are suffering from starvation, essentially responsible for the actions of 14 people.”
Van Hollen also argued that Netanyahu wants to dismantle UNRWA because he sees them as a way to sustain the Palestinian people's aspirations for their own homeland. He has been against a two-state solution, and this has been his main goal, to prevent a two-state solution.
The U.S., along with nearly a dozen other nations, halted funding. paused funding to the agency following the allegations. At the time, UNRWA stated that it maintains a policy of “neutrality,” while acknowledging the difficult circumstances in Gaza due to Hamas's control.
Republicans in Congress have increased calls tostop further funding to the agency, while Democrats have recognized the seriousness of the accusation and emphasized that the allegation applies to a very small fraction of the agency's over 30,000 employees. The U.S. provides funds to UNRWA. through an account covered by the annual State Department funding bill, which is due on May 22.
Van Hollen cautioned about the broad impacts of reducing UNRWA funding in Gaza, which has largely been destroyed by Israel’s heavy attack after the Oct. 7 assaults.
“And if you eliminate UNRWA in Gaza today, it is the main system for distributing food and aid. So if you stop funding for UNRWA and Gaza completely, it means more people will go hungry, more people won’t receive the medical help they need. And so it would be a big mistake to cut them off,” he stated.
The Maryland Democrat was part of a group of Senators last week to demand President Biden to follow the Foreign Assistance Act and stop military aid to Israel. The senators referenced Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act and argued that it requires the Biden administration to halt the sale and transfer of weapons to Israel if Netanyahu’s government continues to obstruct humanitarian aid to Gaza.
