Trump’s pick for U.N. ambassador says he’ll work to dismantle UNRWA if confirmed

"Former US national security adviser Mike Waltz told senators during a hearing on Tuesday that he would work to dismantle the UN agency for Palestinian refugees if confirmed to be the Trump administration’s ambassador to the United Nations.

‘UNRWA in Gaza, with its staff involved in the October 7 massacre, its schools teaching antisemitic hate, must be dismantled,’ Waltz said.

The US was the largest donor to the UN Relief and Works Agency, which was the main organization behind the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza. But UNRWA has come under fire after it was revealed that several of its employees actively participated in the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught.

The US has since pulled its funding to the agency, which as a result is facing a financial crisis.

Israel has passed legislation outlawing UNRWA in its territory, while significantly curbing the agency’s operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

Speaking more broadly about ‘pervasive antisemitism’ at the UN, which he pledged to challenge, Waltz noted that from 2015 to 2023, the General Assembly passed 154 resolutions against Israel, compared to 71 against all other nations combined.

The UN’s reappointment of special rapporteur on Palestinian rights Francesca Albanese, who has called for boycotting US companies that do business with Israel, ‘highlights this bias,’ Waltz said. The US sanctioned Albanese last week.

He also pledged to continue US President Donald Trump’s track-record of blocking Security Council resolutions seen as biased against Israel..."